(  . SOUTHERN  WEALTH 


atorthern  profits, 


AS   EXHIBITED   IIT      •  ,'.     ;        ]  [     '  .\   '  '.    >.   ' 

STATISTICAL  FACTS  AND  OFFICIAL  FIGURES: 

SHOWING   THE 

NECESSITY   OF  UNION   TO   THE  FUTURE  PROSPERITY 

AND 

WELFARE  OF  THE  REPUBLIC. 


EY 

THOMAS  PRENTICE   KETTELL, 

LATE  EDITOR  OF  TQE  DEMOCRATIC  RKVIEV. 


NEW  YORK: 
GEORGE  W.  &  JOHN  A.  WOOD, 

LAW  BUILDING,  82  NASSAU-STEEET. 

1860. 


^i 


K' 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S60, 

By  GEO.  W.  &  JOHN  A.  "WOOD, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 

District  of  New  York. 


RENNIE,  SHEA  &  LINDSAY. 

StKREOtVPEES  AND  ElECTBOTTPKES, 

81,  83,  ftnd  85  Centre-street, 
Kew  Yor.E. 


PREFACE. 


Thk  Emperor  of  the  French  has  said,  that  "France  is  the  only  nation  tlmt 
goes  to  war  for  an  idea."  With  more  truth  may  it  be  said,  tliat  "  the  United 
States  is  the  only  nation  that  goes  to  destruction  for  an  idea."  This  appears, 
however,  to  be  the  settled  policy  of  a  party  at  the  North.  The  United  States,  at 
the  age  of  seventy  years,  have  exhibited  a  degree  of  success  in  working  out  the 
"  experiment"  of  self-government,  that  has  baffled  the  sagacity,  while  it  has  ex- 
cited the  admiration,  of  the  most  far-seeing  statesmen  of  the  Old  Woild.  This 
great  success  manifests  itself  in  the  international  peace  that  the  country  enjoys, 
its  rapid  increase  in  numbers,  the  general  wealth  of  the  people,  and  the  vast 
aggregate  which  that  wealth  presents. 

At  the  close  of  the  War  of  Independence,  the  country  was  composed  of  ex- 
hausted Colonies,  having  a  population  of  3,172,4G4  whites.  The  government  was 
heavily  in  debt  and  without  credit,  the  channels  of  trade  flooded  with  irredeem- 
able and  depreciated  paper  that  had  driven  away  specie,  national  bankruptcy 
and  individual  insolvency  were  the  rule.  Tlie  people  were  destitute  of  capital 
and  manufactures ;  the  employment  of  the  shipping  apparently  destroyed,  and 
the  future  presenting  but  little  hope.  There  were  751,363  black  slaves,  who 
were  without  employment  that  would  earn  their  own  support,  and  their  fate 
and  that  of  their  masters  gave  ample  cause  of  uneasiness,  as  well  to  statesmen 
as  to  owners.  To  abandon  the  blacks  to  their  fate,  under  the  plea  of  philan- 
thropy, suggested  itself  to  many.  The  employment  of  Northern  ships  was 
mostly  the  slave-trade,  while  the  South,  having  daily  less  employment  for  the 
blacks,  was  determined  to  stop  their  arrival, — a  measure  which  tlie  North  re- 
garded as  depriving  it  of  its  legitimate  business.  Thus  growing  jealousy  was 
added  to  other  evils.  The  lapse  of  seventy  years  has  changed  all  that.  The 
North  has  come  to  rival  the  mother  country  in  manufactures — her  shipping  is 
the  first  in  the  world— capital  of  every  description  has  become  redundant— the 
Federal  debt  is  nominal,  and  local  wealth  superior  in  Mas.sachusetts  to  that  of 
any  community  of  like  numbers  in  the  world.  The  condition  of  the  South  has 
changed  to  one  of  the  most  brilliant  promise.  From  a  desponding  jjosition,  in 
the  possession  of  600,000  idle  blacks,  she  hii.s  4,000,000,  whose  labor  is  inade- 
quate to  the  production  of  that  staple  which  the  civilized  world  demands  from 
her  fertile  soil.  The  blacks  themselves  have  been  gradually  elevated  in  material 
comforts  and  religious  sentiment — not  only  far  above  tliosc  of  any  other  country, 
but  greatly  and  progressively  above  their  own  former  condition.  And  tliis  is 
comprehended  in  the  material  fact,  tliat  their  value,  which  was  $200  by  a.<fsc8S- 
ment  in  1790,  is  $550  in  1858.  From  a  market  value  of  $250,  they  have  risen 
;o  $1500  and  $2000.  This  simple  fact  alone  would  show  not  only  the  great 
yalue  that  their  labor  is  to  the  Christian  world,  but  that  their  owners  have 
thus,  as  it  were,  come  under  bonds  in  the  sum  of  S1200  and  $1800  each  hand,  to 
jive  them  the  best  moral  and  material  care.    That  rise  in  the  value  of  the  blacks 


Preface. 


is  also  the  index  to  the  rise  in  the  aggregate  property  of  the  Union,  which  has 
become  as  follows,  showing  the  ofncial  assessed  valuation  : 


North. 
West  . 
South. 


1850.  1858. 

.^3,095,833, 338 §  3,426,i8o,3iS 

.    1,022,948,262 2,111,233,345 

.    2,947,781,366 4,620,617,564 

$io,i58,o3i,i27 


Total §7,066,562,966. 


The  valuation  for  1850  is  that  of  the  census,  and  that  of  1858  is  from  each 
State  census.  In  1800,  the  whole  valuation  for  the  levy  of  a  Federal  tax  was 
619  millions.  There  has  then  been  an  increase  of  property  valuation  of  6,447 
millions  up  to  1850,  and  of  3,072  millions  from  1850  to  1858.  How  strong  a 
contrast  does  this  present  to  the  condition  of  affairs  in  1790 !  ■  Tliis  immense 
property  has  been  developed  under  the  harmonious  working  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, and  the  country  has  become  the  asylum  and  admiration  of  the  Old 
World,  from  the  political  contests  of  which  it  has  remained  aloof. 

We  have  endeavored,  in  the  following  pages,  to  trace  the  gradual  development 
of  this  great  wealth,  to  show  its  souires,  the  course  of  the  resulting  trade,  and 
the  great  profits  derived  from  sectional  intercourse,  harmony,  and  dependence. 
The  mutual  benefit  will  be  found  to  be  large  ;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
disasters  of  disunion  would  be  only  the  more  terrible  for  the  greatness  of  former 
success.  In  the  midst  of  this  prosperity,  a  wanton  attack,  by  political  and  cleri- 
cal agitators,  is  made  upon  sister  States,  a  new  idea  of  morality  is  conjured  up  as 
a  means  of  stirring  up  domestic  strife,  and  wantonly  destroying  the  source  of  all 
this  material  good.  Historians  record  with  surprise  the  amazing  folly  of  George 
th6  Third  and  his  ministers,  who  drove  the  colonies  into  rebellion  for  a  system  ! 
But  they  wanted  revenue.  What  will  the  future  historian  say  of  the  North, 
which  destroyed  its  source  of  profit  for  a  more  trivial  pretence  !  The  monkey 
that  persisted  in  sawing  off  the  limb  between  himself  and  the  tree,  seems  to  be 
the  model  of  modern  sagacity.  We  are  told  that  there  is  no  intention  of  destroy- 
ing the  institutions  of  the  States — that  the  design  is  only  to  exclude  the  institu- 
tion from  territory  where  it  would  have  been  long  since  had  nature  permitted. 
There  is  here,  then,  nothing  practical— a  mere  pretence  of  agitating  the  popular 
mind  and  engendering  animosities,  for  the  mere  sake  of  those  animosities.  Tlie 
national  prosperity,  the  domestic  peace,  the  safety  of  life  and  property,  the  very 
existence  of  the  nation,  are  jeopardized  for  an  idea,  admitted  by  the  agitators  to 
be  fruitless.  The  agitation  has  at  the  North  no  one  practical  application  what- 
ever ;  while  at  the  South,  it  has  in  the  background  servile  insurrection,  blood- 
shed, and  annihilation  of  person  and  property,  involving  ultimately  the  ruin  of 
the  North. 

This  Republican  hobby,  so  violently  ridden,  has  at  best  but  a  feeble  constitu- 
tion. The  idea  of  non-intervention  where  slavery  exists,  and  of  intervention 
where  it  cannot  exist,  is  certainly  but  a  thing  of  straw  ;  yet  this  is  the  very  head 
of  the  pi-etence,  while  the  popular  contempt  for  slavery  is  stimulated  by  such 
assertions  as  the  following  : 

"  The  annual  hay  crop  of  the  Free  States  is  worth  considerably  more,  in  dollars 
and  cents,  than  all  the  cotton,  tobacco,  rice,  hay,  hemp,  and  cane-sugar  annually 
produced  in  the  fifteen  Slave  States." 

When  we  find  that  the  South  keeps  3,000,000  head  of  cattle  more  than  thi. 
North,  without  this  vast  expense  for  haymaking,  the  absurdity  of  this  propositio: 
in  a  partisan  tale  becomes  apparent,  and  we  recognize  the  hobby  of  the  nursery 

"  His  head  was  made  of  peas-straw, 
His  tail  was  made  of  hay.' ' 


Preface.  6 

Europe  looks  on  in  surprifie,  to  see  this  "  model  Republic,"  this  successful  "ex- 
ponent of  self-government,"  this  "  eyesore  to  aristocrats,"  this  "  asylum  of  the 
oppressed,"  this  "paradise  of  industry,  and  demonstration  of  human  equality," 
voluntarily  casting  behind  it  all  claim  for  human  supremacy,  all  prospect  of  ad- 
vancement, and  seeking  self-destruction,  for  the  sake  of  wallowing  in  the  kennel 
with  an  inferior  race.  The  philosopher  demands  if  the  persons  who  commit 
this  monstrous  outrage  upon  human  dignity  are  really  entitled  to  those  godlike 
qualities  that  are  generally  ascribed  to  the  intellect  of  man.  Is  man,  after  all,  no 
better  than  a  brute,  that  he  should  libel  his  Creator  for  making  distinctions  be- 
tween his  creatures,  and  pretend  to  correct  the  errors  of  the  Deity  by  voluntarily 
resigning  his  rank  in  the  scale  of  creation  ?  The  statesman  asks,  if  really  the 
"  most  intelligent"  people  of  the  world  are  so  besotted  as  to  take  seriously  the 
political  clap-traps  of  Europe,  to  pretend  that  they  are  no  better  than  negroes, 
and  destroy  themselves  for  a  sentiment?  That  Europe,  through  her  large  interest 
in  American  States,  has  been  alarmed  lest  this  should  really  be  so,  is  manifest 
in  the  London  "Times,"  which,  from  a  virulent  assailant,  has  lately  become  the 
efficient  defender  of  American  institutions,  which  were  capital  staples  for  abuse 
while  there  was  no  danger  of  losing  them,  but  they  really  cannot  afford  to  have 
the  thing  taken  seriously. 

The  South  views  the  matter  in  the  spirit  of  Patrick  Henry.  "  ITie  object  is 
now,  indeed,  small,  but  the  shadow  is  large  enough  to  darken  all  this  fair  land." 
They  can  have  no  faith  in  men  who  profess  what  they  think  a  great  moral  prin- 
ciple, and  deny  that  they  intend  to  act  upon  it.  It  was  the  principle  of  taxation 
without  representation  that  the  colonies  resisted,  and  it  is  the  principle  of  the 
'•  irrepressible  conflict,"  based  avowedly  on  a  "  higher  law,"  that  the  South  resist.s. 
She  is  now  in  the  position  of  the  Colonies  eighty-four  years  ago,  and  is  adopting 
the  same  measures  that  they  adopted,  viz.,  non-intercourse.  These  are  now 
derided  as  they  were  then,  and  this  even  while  the  effects  of  the  preliminary 
movements  are  falling  heavily  upon  the  Northern  workmen.  A  prompt  retreat 
from  this  dangerous  agitation  within  the  shadow  of  the  Constitution,  is  the  only 
means  of  realizing  the  rich  future,  which  will  be  the  reward  only  of  harmony, 
good  faitli,  and  loyalty  to  the  Constitution. 

T.  P.  K. 

New  York,  March  6,  18G0. 


y 


CO'NTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I.— Origin  of  Capital 9 

Labor  the  source  of  wealth — Accumulation  is  cnpitnl — Beginning  of  slavery — Capital  mostly  of 
slave  origin — Disposition  of  whites  to  work— Last  white  slaves  of  England — Queen  Elizabeth 
— Henry  VIII.— ^Yhite  emancipation — Negro  enslavement— India — First  English  slave-ships 
— Jainaica— End  of  slave-trade— Abolition— Profits  of  274  years  of  slave-trade— Failure  of 
the  abolition  scheme— London  Times — Exeter  Hall — New  England  schools — Crop  of  aboli- 
tion—The New  Englai\d  supersedes  the  Old — New  England  slave-traders — Commerce  of  New 
England — Capital  slave-earned — Forced  into  manufactures — Cotton  employs  shipping. 

CHAPTER  II. — Cotton  Culture  and  Manufacture 19 

Steam-engines— Cotton  gin  and  jenny— 'Whitney-Judge  Johnson— Condition  of  the  South- 
Gloomy  prospects  for  slaves— Sudden  opening  of  the  future— Product  and  export  of  cotton 
from  ISOO  to  1S60— Inventions— Start  to  manufacture— Manufactures  in  Europe  and  the  Uni- 
ted States— Varieties  of  cotton— Supply  to  England— India  a  consumer— French  duty— Dr. 
Livingstone— Cotton  used  per  head — Manchester  chamber  of  commerce — Lord  Brougham — 
I  of  Oxford— Lord  Overstonc— London  Times. 


CHAPTER  HI.— General  Agriculture 42 

New  England  navigation— Southern  slave  agriculture— Western  free  agriculture— Erroneous 
notions  about  the  Snuth — Food  per  head  at  the  South — West — North- Southern  preponder- 
ance— Products  per  hand — Hay  fallacy — Cattle  kept— Sugar  product  per  hand— Exchanieablo 
value  produced  at  the  South — Exports  to  Northern  cities— Northern  expenses  paid  by  the 
South — Railroads — Persons  employed  at  the  South  on  railroads — Farm  products  sent  to  North- 
ern cities^ent  from  N.  York  to  Jamaica— Southern  capital  improved  by  local  employments. 

CHx\PTER   IV.— Manufactures 5-1 

New  England  naturally  sterile — Shipping  employments — Female  eEfS^'loyment — Ch.inge  in  navi- 
gation— Anne.xation  of  Louisiana — Erroneous  views  of  Southern  employments — Table  of  cot- 
ton manufactures  in  each  section — Goods  produced  South  and  North — Advantages  of  the  South 
— General  manufacturer's  table — New  England  sales  to  the  South — Protection— Female  em- 
ployment— Slavery  driven  out  of  the  North — South  becoming  an  exporter- Relative  increa«o 
— Factories  in  Georgia — Girls  employed — Immigration — Mechanii'S — Large  capital  brought  by 
immigrants — Manufactures  sold  South — Home  manufactures  in  17fi4— General  Lyman — En;:- 
land  derided  the  colonies — New  England  derides  the  South — England  could  conquer  the  colo- 
nies— The  North  would  conquer  the  South— Defensive  commercial  measures  at  the  South — 
Enin  for  an  idea, 

CHAPTER  V. — Imports  and  Exports G7 

Growth  of  industry— Exports  follow  production — Carrying  trade  of  New  England— Slaves  a<l- 
jnsted  the  Southern  balance- Exports  grow  with  Southern  products — United  States  imports 
and  export.s — Nature  of  external  trado— Annual  trade-balance — Operation  of  duties — United 
States  exports- Early  exports — Embargo — Progress  of  cotton — Free  trade  in  England— No 
surplus  manufactured  for  export — Superior  natural  advantiges  of  the  South  and  West  over  the 
North — Exports  mostly  of  Southern  origin — Analysis — Breadstuffs—  Sales  of  poods  to  the  South 
— Profits  of  whites  at  the  South — Number  who  come  North— Trade  account  North  and  South — 
Various  interests  concerned — North  alone  injured  by  separation — South  has  materiaLs  food, 
and  markets — Clerical  mischief-makers — Northern  Slave  States  to  supplant  New  England. 

CHAPTER  VI.— Tonnage  and  Railroads 77 

Sbip-bullding  early  engages  the  North— Tonnage  in  ITth  century— Sir  Joshua  Child— Ships  built 
in  1769— Tonnage  in  1820— Increasing  size  of  ships— Fish-eating  In  New  Ensland— Cotton 
supplants  fish— Bounties  on  fish — North  has  the  ships  but  furnishes  no  frt-lght- Brooms — 
Tonnage  built — Progress  in  40  years— One  ton  to  a  bale— Fluctuation  in  tonnage— Cotton  the 
regulator— Demand  for  tons  by  famine— Mexican  war — California— Clipper  fhips— Owner- 
ship of  tonnage- Eel.itivo  source  of  fnights— New  Tork  profits— Ship-building  per 
Comparative  cost  North  and  South— Railroads— North  and  South— Tabic  of  railroads. 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII.— Banking 89 

Commercial  charter  of  bankers— Course  of  produce— Cotton  bills— Concentration  of  capital  in 
New  York — Capital  supplied  from  all  quarters— Planters'  bills— Capital  pours  into  New  York 
for  employment— Number  and  strength  of  banks— Bank  balance— New  York  quarterly  re- 
turns— Fluctuation  of  balances — Specie  in  Southern  banks — New  York  and  New  Orleans — 
Current  of  specie  South— Bills  and  specie  in  New  Orleans— General  exchange  system— Effect 
on  the  accumulation  of  capital — South  beginning  to  accumulate — Profits  of  '•absenteeism'"  at 
the  North— The  aggregate  would  develop  manufactures  at  the  South. 

CHAPTER  VIII.— Population 99 

Influence  of  population — Greater  Increase  of  the  South — Table  of  seven  census  returns — Sec- 
tional progress  and  immigration — Nativities  of  each  section— Capital  brought  by  immigrants 
— Irish  and  Germans  perform  domestic  service— Domestic  service  degrading  at  the  North- 
Migration  East  to  "West — Incendiary  publications— More  Northerners  emigrate  than  Southern- 
ers—Effect  of  diminished  trade— Shoe  trade— Export  of  shoes  from  Boston  South— Climate- 
Deaths — Attractions  of  the  North — Employments  of  free  people — Local  industry  at  the  South. 

CHAPTER  IX.— Black  Race lOS 

Principle  of  individual  contribution — Society  requires  all  to  produce — Criminals — The  white  race 
will  work,  the  black  will  not— Fugitives  in  Canada— Black  laws  of  the  West— Paupers  re- 
quired to  work — Connecticut  laws — Paupers  sold — Dr.  Clianning — Illusion — Toussaint  L"On- 
verturc — English  error  and  disappointment — London  Times  on  Jamaica — Mango  Park — 
Lewis— West  Indies — Negroes  never  known  to  hire — Capt,  Hamilton — Memorial  to  the  queen 
—Blacks  liberated— Coolies— State  of  the  blacks— Governor  Barkley— Parliamentary  debates 
— French  Guiana — M.  Vacherot — John  Bigclow,  Esq. — Blacks  in  United  States  per  census  1790 
to  ISbO — Aggregate  sectional  progress— At  the  North  very  slow — Northern  climate  too  rigor- 
ous for  blacks— Criminals — Black  and  white' — Blacks  more  vicious  at  the  North — Irish  more 
oppressed— Exclusion  of  free  blacks — The  antipathies  of  races. 

CHAPTER  X.— Accumulation 126 

South  produces— Northern  profits— Customs— Bounties— Manufactures-Annual  drafts  upon  the 
South — Fishing  bounties — Helper's  errors — Valuation  of  179S — Progress  to  IS.'iO— Great  in- 
crease of  the  South— Farm  lands — West— Northern  valuations — City  growth — Loss  upon 
Southern  trade— All  farms  overvalued — Land  tenaciously  held  in  Europe — Not  so  in  America 
— "Bonds"  for  the  free— Southern  State  returns  for  1S5S — Immense  increase — Western  State 
valuation  for  1S5S— The  Southern  value  sound— The  Western  value  a  wreck— Northern  State 
valuation — Bank  capital — Tonnage — Railroads — Manufactures — Kecapitulation— Great  prog- 
ress of  the  South  **•  ■""• 

CHAPTER  XL— Apportionment 137 

Formation  of  government — Ch.wgcd  position  of  slaves — Struggle  for  power — Representation — 
South  on  the  defence — Northern  taunts— Constitutional  provisions — Original  States  all  Slave 
States- New  England  in  favor  of  prolonged  slave-trade— Disunion  by  Massachusetts— Renewal 
— Opposition  to  new  territories — Abolition  at  the  North— Decline  of  Southern  power — Increase 
of  Free  States— Table  of  apportionments— Foreign  element  at  the  North— Concentration  of 
blacks— Texa.s— Increase  of  free  blacks— Rise  in  slave  value  prevents  political  expansion- 
Concentration  of  population  promotes  manufactures — New  census — Western  railroad  interest 
—Immigration  diminished— Union  is  peace — But  our  interest  "the  union." 

CHAPTER  XIL— Conclusion 143 

Surprising  progress— Original  States— Resume  of  facts— Population— Production— Property- 
Northern  profits— Federal  loans  and  fin.mcial  loans— Substitute  of  population  at  the  North- 
Foreigners  mostly  .servants  and  artisans— North  concentrates  wealth  and  cheap  labor— Party 
motives— .\ttcmpts  to  stir  ps-ssions- Hon.  W.  H.  Seward— Blacks  are  property— Early  under- 
standing of  the  constitution— Congress  acts  upon  the  idea  of  property— Mr.  Jay— Federal  act 
of  1S07— The  law  determines  property— Debate  of  1799-Mr.  Rutledge-H.  G.  Otis— Jihn 
Adams— Constitution  protects  slaves—"  Concessions  "—Farewell  Address— Loader  of  Repul  li- 
cans— Slaves  in  territories— Bald  sham— System  of  irritation— Mas.<achusetts— Black  laws  of 
the  West— Mr.  Hoar—"  One  policy  "—Bales  to  blacks— Concentration  of  blacks— Blacks  too 
valuable  to  migrate— Duties— Mr.  Calhoun— Mr.  Webster— Change  attitudes— Black  tariff 
compromise — Charles  O'Conor,  Esq. 


SOUTHERN    WEALTH 


NORTHERN    PROFITS 


CHAPTER  I. 

ORIGIN   OF   CAPITAL. 

The  fact  tliat  labor  is  tlie  source  of  all  wealtli,  has  long  been 
demonstrated  by  all  schools  of  economists ;  so  also  have  they 
shown  that  what  is  called  capital,  in  whatever  shape  it  exists, 
is  the  surplus  of  production  over  consumption.  Tliese  are  very 
plain  propositions,  but  there  is  another  quite  as  manifest :  it  is, 
that  the  unaided  labor  of  a  man  can  jiroduce  for  hun  very  lit- 
tle more  than  his  own  requirements.  An  individual  in  the  oc- 
cupation of  a  farm  soon  finds  that  unless  he  can  procure  other 
labor  than  his  own,  no  matter  how  fruitful  may  bo  the  earth, 
he  will  have  very  little  surplus  at  the  end  of  the  year,  after 
satisfying  his  own  wants.  In  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  when, 
as  is  supposed,  there  were  fewer  labor-saving  machines  than 
now,  this  insufficiency  of  individual  labor  was  the  more  marked. 
A  man's  wealth  was  then  increased  in  proportion  to  the  num- 
ber of  sons  he  possessed,  and  who  were  then,  as  they  are  to  this 
day,  legal  slaves  until  the  age  of  21.  Very  soon  the  idea  pos- 
sessed a  strong  family  to  compel  others  to  work  for  them.  It 
was  speedily  discovered  that  numbers  of  persons  had  no  dis- 
position to  labor  at  all  if  they  could  help  it.  It  was  equally 
obvious  that  if  they  did  not  produce  they  must  still  exist  at  the 
expense  of  those  who  did  produce.  As  this  could  not  in  jus- 
tice be  permitted,  the  remedy  was  to  fierce  them  to  labor.  Tlic 
production  was  thus  increased,  and  the  surplus  enhanced  by 
taking  care  that  those  slaves  should  consume  less  than  they 
earned.     That  system  of  slavery,  with  many  modifications,  has 


10  Southern  Wealth  and  If^orthern  Profits. 

prevailed  doT\Ti  to  the  present  time ;  and  all  the  wealth  or  capi- 
tal existing  has  been  the  result  of  slave-labor,  or  of  the  work- 
ing of  capital  originally  derived  from  slave-labor.  The  history 
of  the  wealth  and  power  of  nations  is  but  a  record  of  slave 
])roducts.  Tlie  monuments  of  antiquity,  the  magnificence  of  the 
modern  world,  tlje  .power  of  states ;  the  position  of  nobles  and 
^he-fortutifs'.afi'Hiitljviduals,  are  the  results  of  slave-labor — the 
aecuinulations  from. forced  servitude.  In  a  free  state  each  in- 
diti];lvi4l.'ralJi-">}^4  A^.  injich  as  he  produces,  and  it  is  only  when 
men  are  compelled  to  work  much,  and  enjoy  comparatively  but 
little  of  the  proceeds  of  their  labor,  that  the  task-master  of  many 
accumulates  wealth  in  proportion  to  the  skill  with  which  he 
directs  their  services.  The  possessor  of  many  slaves  must  have 
a  lucrative  mode  of  employing  them,  or  he  will  be  ruined  by  the 
expense  of  maintaining  them.  Tlie  ancient  world  was  main- 
tained by  slaves  and  enjoyed  by  patricians.  In  modem  Europe, 
serf-labor,  imder  the  feudal  system,  was  universal,  and  if  the 
nobles  have  now  ceased  to  have  an  ownership  in  the  man,  they 
do  not  the  less  surely  exact  from  him  his  earnings  through 
the  credit  system  which  has  replaced  feudality.  The  soil  of 
Europe  and  of  England  was,  however,  unfitted  to  slave-labor. 
K  it  was  every^vhere  owned  by  the  nobles,  it  yielded  but  little 
under  the  unintelligent  cultivation  of  the  serfs,  and  capital  was 
of  very  slow  growth,  notwithstanding  that  the  condition  of  the 
mass  of  people  was  miserable  in  the  extreme. 

It  was  soon  discovered,  in  the  progress  of  civilization,  that 
intelligent  white  men  would  produce  more  in  a  state  of  free- 
dom than  as  serfs ;  that  the  rewards  of  industry  were  a  suffi- 
cient stimulus  to  them  to  labor ;  while  tithes,  taxes,  and  rents 
were  the  ready  means  of  exacting  more  of  the  proceeds  of  labor 
from  the  freeman  than  could  be  obtained  from  the  serfs.  The 
restraints  upon  individuals  were  then  gradually  relaxed,  while 
the  most  severe  means  were  taken  to  compel  idlers  to  work. 
"  Sturdy  beggars"  were  not  only  visited  with  the  severe  penal- 
ties of  the  law,  but  those  who  harbored  and  relieved  them  were 
punished  ;  while  "  work-houses"  were  the  recipients  of  those  ai'- 
rested  and  those  who  required  alms. 

Tlie  slave  system  gradually  faded  out, — the  sovereigns,  as 
they  wanted  money  from  time  to  time,  selling  freedom  to  the 
slaves.  The  last  record  of  transactions  of  this  nature  was  in 
1574,  by  Queen  Elizabeth.  Sixty  years  previously,  "  BlulF 
King  Hal,"  being  short  of  funds,  had  "  made  a  raise"  on  the 


Southern  Wealth  and  jVot'thern  Profits.  11 

freedom  of  some  of  liis  slaves.     As  this  is  a  curious  fact,  but 
little  known,  we  transcribe  the  law. 

A  manumission  granted  by  Henry  VIII.,  to  two  persons, 
ran  as  follows : 

"  Whereas,  originally,  God  created  all  men  free ;  but  after- 
ward the  laws  and  customs  of  nations  subjected  some  under  tlie 
yoke  of  servitude,  we  think  it  pious  and  meritorious  with  God, 
to  make  certain  persons  absolutely  free  from  servitude  who  are  at 
present  under  villenage  to  us  ;  Avhcrefore  we  do  now  accordinijly 
manumit  and  free  from  yoke  of  servitude  Henry  Knight,  a  tailor, 
and  John  Erie,  a  husbandman,  our  slaves,  as  being  "born  in  our 
manor  of  Stoke  Clymmy  Slande,  in  our  count}'  of  "Cornwall,  to- 
gether with  all  their  issue  born  or  hereafter  to  be  born,  so  as 
the  said  two  persons,  with  their  issue,  shall  henceforth  be 
deemed  by  us  and  our  heirs  free  and  of  free  condition." — 


nea  oy 
leva,  v., 


Fmdera,  V.,  xiii.,  p.  470. 

This  wonderfully  pious  prince  became  suddenly  "republi- 
can," it  appears,  when  he  found  that  Henry  Knight  would  pay 
for  such  an  exercise  of  piety.  It  is  a  pity  that  this  devout 
mood  should  not  have  lasted  20  years  later,  to  save  the  head  of 
Anne  Boleyn  from  forfeiture  for  too  much  alleged  freedom. 
Sixty  years  later,  the  "  Good  Queen  Bess,"  being  sorely  impe- 
cunious, bethought  her  of  the  profitable  piety  of  old  Hal,  and 
directed  a  commission  to  her  Lord  Treasurer  Burghley  and  Sir 
Walter  Mildmay,  Chancellor  of  her  Exchequer,  for  inquiring 
into  the  condition  of  all  her  bondmen  and  bondwomen  in  the 
counties  of  Cornwall,  Devon,  Somerset,  and  Gloucester,  or 
such  as  were  by  "  birth  of  slavish  condition,"  by  being  born  in 
any  of  her  manors  ;  and  to  compound  with  such  bondmen  and 
bondwomen  in  those  counties  for  their  manumissioii,  and  to 
enjoy  their  chattels,  &c.,  as  freemen.  By  this  exhibition  of 
republicanism  the  respectable  old  spinster  raised  a  consideraldc 
sum  of  money  for  her  own  enjoyment.  Those  bondmen,  how- 
ever, fared  worse  than  "  black  brothers"  260  years  later,  since 
they  had  to  pay  for  their  freedom,  and  the  "  darkies"  were  dis- 
charged and  "  hired  over  again  at  better  wages." 

It  is  a  little  remarkable-  that  the  preamble  of  the  law  of 
Henry  VIII.  begins  with  almost  the  identical  phrase  that  heads 
the  Declaration  of  American  Independence.  It  is  to  be  sup- 
posed that  Mr.  Jefferson  had  diligently  followed  the  slow  course 
of  human  emancipation  in  England,  and  was  duly  impressed 
with  the  fact  announced  by  the  king  in  respect  of  men;  but 


12  Southern  Wealth  ai\d  Northern  Profits. 

the  idea  does  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  either  tliat  before 
the  emancipation  of  "  men"  should  have  become  perfected, 
zealots  would  have  descended  a  grade  in  the  scale  of  creation 
to  embrace  an  inferior  race  in  a  common  right  of  freedom.  As 
"  Revolutions  never  go  backward,"  race  after  race  of  animals 
may  expect  their  turn  of  emancipation,  since  the  same  argu- 
ment, that  all  are  born  free,  applies  to  all.  Naturally,  all  were 
born  free ;  but  it  was  to  serve  the  common  end  of  creation  that 
tliey  are  made  useful  to  man  by  domestication.  In  his  free 
state,  amid  the  wilds  of  Africa,  tlie  negro,  to  this  day,  is  no 
more  useful  to  man  than  the  gorilla,  the  gorilla  than  the  orang- 
outang, the  latter  than  the  chimpanzee,  and  so  down  to  the 
little  ape,  which  obeys  the  law  of  creation  in  being  domesti- 
cated to  the  service  of  the  Savoyard  organists.  The  discovery 
of  the  usefulness  of  the  negro  was  made  at  about  the  date  in 
which  the  respectable  Elizabeth  sold  freedom  to  her  white 
slaves.  Tlie  use  which  England  made  of  that  discovery  was  to 
prosecute  it  during  274  years,  in  the  course  of  which  5,000,000 
negroes  were  caught  and  put  to  labor.  ]S"early  all  the  com- 
V  tnercial  wealth  of  England  at  this  day  is  due  to  those  negroes. 
But  that  was  not  the  only  cause  of  the  rapid  increase  of  British 
wealth  in  the  last  century.  During  countless  ages  there  had 
existed  200,000,000  laborious  and  frugal  slaves  to  local  despots 
in  India,  Avhen  Clive,  with  the  vanguard  of  the  English,  burst 
in  upon  them,  in  1756.  Tliose  people  had  accumulated  fabu- 
lous wealth ;  and  the  instant  the  English  took  possession,  the 
transfer  of  that  wealth  to  England  commenced.  Numberless 
individuals  were  sent  thither  to  be  enriched,  and  they  returned 
to  England  in  great  numbers,  with  vast  fortunes.  Tlie  prop- 
erty so  transferred  has  been  estimated,  on  data  afforded  by  the 
India  trade,  at  2000  millions  of  dollars,  from  the  battle  of 
Plassy,  1757,  to  1830.  Tlie  mere  operations  of  the  India  Com- 
pany were  as  nothing  compared  with  the  wealth  acquired  by 
England  in  this  transfer  of  private  fortunes.  Tliis  process  was 
simultaneous  with  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  slave-trade, 
which  gave  such  vast  capital  to  the  British  Islands. 

In  the  year  1561,  Sir  John  Hawkins  fitted  out  three  vessels, 
of  40,  60,  and  120  tons,  with  English  goods,  for  Guinea,  where 
he  exchanged'  the  goods  for  negroes,  sold  the  latter  in  His- 
paniola,  and  brought  home  hides,  sugar,  and  ginger.  Tliis  was 
the  origin  of  that  immense  trade  which  England  prosecuted 
with  such  success  during  274  years.     The  profits  in  16S9  were 


Southern  Wealt/i  and  JV^ori/icni  Profits.  13 

already  so  large,  and  the  trade  had  so  extended  the  English 
marine,  that  a  convention  was  lield  in  London,  by  wliich  Eng- 
land nndertook  to  supply  the  Spanish  West  Indies  Avith  slaves. 
From  that  time  the  trade  took  large  dimensions.  In  ITlS'the 
South  Sea  Company  contracted  to  supply  4800  negroes  per 
annum,  f(»r  30  years.  The  enormous  development  of  the  trade 
may  he  estimated  from  an  ofHcial  letter  of  General  O'llara, 
Governtn-  of  Senegambia,  in  1760.  It  states  that  for  50  years 
past  there  had  been  shipped  from  the  country  "  70,000  negroes 
per  annum  of  its  prime  inhabitants,"  whence  he  concludes  the 
great  population  of  the  continent.  In  the  year  1768,  a  British 
report  gives  the  number  shipped  for  that  year,  from  the  west 
coast  of  Africa,  between  Cape  Blanco  and  Rio  Congo,  at  97,100, 
of  which  53,100  were  by  British,  and  6,700  by  American 
vessels. 

Under  the  convention  with  Spain  the  Island  of  Jamaica  be- 
came a  great  depot,  and  the  island  progressed  as  follows  : 

Neoroks.  Populatiox. 

Imported.  Exported.  White.  Bhd-. 

no2 7,644  

to  1752 i52,323      

"  1762 229,443  45,705  i5,ooo  146,464 

"  1774  497.736  137, 1 14  16,000  220,000 

"  1787 609.241  166,076  23,000  256,000 

"  1791 708.318      

"  1807 1,128,400      37,i52  373,405 

These  figures  are  from  various  British  official  reports.  In 
1719  a  duty  of  5^,  per  head  was  laid  on  the  import  into  Ja- 
maica; in  1720  it  was  raised  to  IO5.,  and  206'.  on  exportation. 
In  1774  the  number  of  blacks  in  the  island  had  become  alarm- 
ingly large,  and  there  was  imposed  a  duty  of  £2  10^?.,  and 
raised  to  £5  before  the  close  of  the  year.  This  excited  the  o|> 
position  of  the  English  slave-traders,  and  on  their  appeal  to 
Parliament  the  duty  was  abrogated.  That  movement,  how- 
ever, caused  an  inquiry  by  Parliament  into  the  slave-trade,  and 
the  movement,  gathering  force  and  strength  by  the  example  of 
the  United  States,  in  prohilnting  the  slave-trade  after  ISdS, 
finally  resulted  in  its  prohibition  by  Parliament,  in  1807.  Tims 
ended  the  traffic  that  had  been  begun  by  the  British  in  15G1. 
Tlie  results  of  this  traffic  upon  British  wealth  arc  easily  esti- 
mated. As  seen  above,  there  were  imported  into  Jamaica,  in 
the  18th  century,  1,128,400  blacks,  selling  at  an  average,  by 
official  tables,  of  £30  each.  The  number  imported  in  the  140 
years  up  to  the  18th  century  is  put  at  600,000,  and  into  all  other 


14  Southern  Wealth  and  Northei^  Profits. 

colonies  at  1,000,000;  making,  together,  2,728,400  negroes; 
which,  at  £30  each,  realized  £81,852,000,  or  $450,000,000:  but 
if  each  black  produced,  during  his  life,  but  8  times  his  own 
cost,  the  amount  of  wealth  sent  to  England  was  3600  millions 
of  dollars,  or  a  sum  exceeding  the  present  national  debt.  In 
estimating  the  value  of  the  island  in  1788,  the  commercial  ex- 
port value  was  put  down  at  £5,400,000  ;  and  12  years'  purchase 
gave  £64,600,000  as  the  value  of  the  island.  That  rate,  for 
100  years,  gives  £540,000,000,  and  at  half  the  rate  for  the  pre- 
vious 170  years,  the  aggregate  would  be  £810,000,000,  or 
4000  millions  dollars.  We  have,  then,  the  following  results  of 
the  India  and  slave  operations  of  the  18th  century  : 

Realized  from  India §2,000,000,000 

"  "     slaves  and  islands 3, 600,000, 000 


Total  capital $5,6oo,ooo,ooo 

This  vast  capital  poured  into  the  lap  of  England  Avas  the 
source  of  its  greatness  and  of  the  sudden  development  of  power 
and  wealth  which  took  date  from  the  middle  of  the  18th 
century. 

Tlie  effects  of  this  capital  become  surprising  when  we  turn 
to  the  British  population  tables. 

Population  of  England  and  Wales. 

Tear.  Population.  Year.  Popxdaiwn. 

jo86 1,000,000  I  1770 7,227,586 

1670 6,000,000  1790 8,540,738 

1695 8,000,000  I  1800 8,894,536 

1700 5,i34,5i6  I  j85o 17,907,409 

1750 6,039,684  I 

Tlie  population,  for  1086,  is  that  of  Doomsday  book  ;  that  of 
1695  is  by  d'Avenant.  Tlie  figures  for  the  18th  century  are  in 
"  Porter's  Progress,"  vol.  i.,  page  14.  The  result  is,  that  up  to 
the  close  of  the  18th  century,  the  population  of  England  and 
Wales  was  stationary.  It  •  required  700  years  to  rise  from  one 
to  five  millions,  showing  the  severe  struggles  for  life  the  people 
had,  until  the  wealth  we  have  pointed  out  flowed  in  upon 
them.  That  wealth  stimulated  industry  of  all  kinds,  and,  aided 
by  inventions,  has  so  improved  the  condition  of  the  people,  that 
the  population  gained  more  in  the  first  50  years  of  the  present 
century,  15  of  them  of  war,  than  in  the  previous  800  years. 

Although  England  discontinued  the  slave-trade  in  1807,  it 
was  not  until  30  years  later  that  slavery  was  abolished.  The 
islands  had  become  stocked  with  laborers,  and  the  false  princi- 


Southei'ni  Wealth  and  Korthem  Profits.  15 

pie  was  assumed,  that,  as  the  whites  had  become  more  indus- 
trioiis  and  productive  in  a  state  of  freedom  than  in  a  state  of 
slavery,  the  blacks  would  do  so  also,  and  thus  develop  a  large 
market  for  goods.  This  idea,  in  connection  with  the  fact  that 
the  British  system  of  slavery  was  enormously  expensive  for  the 
suppression  of  insurrection,  brought  about  emancipation.  After 
enslaving  negroes  for  274  years,  they  discovered  that  the  black 
was  a  "  man  and  a  brother."  They  freed  him,  petted  him,  en- 
couraged him  ;  the  papers  and  preachers  lied  for  him.  They 
said,  if  he  did  not  work,  it  was  only  the  natural  rest  that  one 
generation  wanted,  after  the  fatigues  of  their  progenitors. 
A  singularly  long  rest,  certainly,  and  a  new  generation  has 
sho^vn  a  disposition  to  prolong  the  rest,  while  ruin  stares  them 
in  the  face.  At  last,  after  25  years'  experience,  the  London 
Times,  which  worked  so  hard  to  bring  about  abolition,  finally 
breaks  down  as  follows : 

"  There  is  no  blinking  the  truth.  Years  of  bitter  experience; 
years  of  hope  deferred  ;  of  self-devotion  unrequited  ;  of  pov- 
erty ;  of  humiliation  ;  of  prayers  unanswered  ;  of  sufferings 
derided ;  of  insults  unresented ;  of  contumely  patiently  en- 
dured, have  convinced  us  of  the  truth.  It  must  be  spoken  out 
loudly  and  energetically,  despite  the  wild  mockings  of  '  howl- 
ing cant.'  The  freed  West  India  slave  will  not  till  the  soil  for 
Avages  ;  the  free  son  of  the  ex-slave  is  as  obstinate  as  his  sire. 
He  will  not  cultivate  lands  which  he  has  not  bought  fur  his 
own.  Yams,  mangoes,  and  plantains — those  satisfy  his  wants; 
he  cares  not  for  yours.  Cotton,  sugar,  cofiee,  and  tobacco,  he 
cares  but  little  for.  And  what  matters  it  to  him  that  the 
Englishman  has  sunk  his  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  on 
mills,  machinery,  and  plants,  whicli  now  totter  on  the  languish- 
ing estate  that  for  3'ears  has  only  returned  beggary  and  debt. 
He  eats  his  yams,  and  sniggers  at  '  Buckra.' 

"  We  know  not  why  this" should  be,  but  it  is  so.  The  negro 
has  been  bought  with  a  price — the  price  of  English  taxation 
and  English  toil.  He  has  been  redeemed  from  bondage  l)y  the 
sweat  and  travail  of  some  millions  of  hard-working  Englishmen. 
Twenty  millions  of  pounds  sterling — one  hundred  millions  of 
dollars — have  been  distilled  from  the  brains  and  muscles  (»f  the 
free  English  laborer,  of  every  degree,  to  fashion  the  AVrst  In- 
dia negro  into  a  'free,  independent  laborer.'  '  Erce  and  inde- 
pendent' enough  he  has  become,  God  knows,  but  lal>ori>r  he  is 
not ;  and,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  never  will  be.  He  will  sing 
hymns  and  quote  texts,  but  honest,  steady  industry  he  not  only 
detests,  but  despises.  AVe  wish  to  Heaven  that  some  jjeople  in 
England — neither  government  people,  nor  parsons,  nor  clergy- 


16  ■-  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

men,  but  some  jiist-minded,  lionest-liearted,  and  clear-sighted 
men — would  go  out  to  some  of  the  islands  (say  Jamaica,  Do- 
minica, or  Antigua), — not  for  a  month,  or  three  months,  hut  for 
a  year,  would  watch  the  precious  protege  of  English  philanthro- 
py, the  freed  negro,  in  his  daily  habits ;  would  watch  him  as 
he  lazily  plants  his  little  squatting ;  would  see  him  as  he 
proudly  rejects  agricultural  or  domestic  services,  or  accepts  it 
only  at  wages  ludicrously  disproportionate  to  the  value  of  his 
Avork.  We  wish,  too,  they  would  watch  him,  while,  with  a 
hide  thicker  than  a  hippopotamus,  and  a  body  to  which  fervid 
heat  is  a  comfort  rather  than  an  annoyance,  he  droningly 
lounges  over  the  prescribed  task,  over  which  the  intrepid  Eng- 
lishman, uninured  to  the  burning  sun,  consumes  his  impatient 
energy,  and  too  often  sacrifices  his  life.  We  wish  they  would 
go  out  and  view  the  negro  in  all  the  blazonry  of  his  idleness, 
his  pride,  his  ingratitude,  contemptuously  sneering  at  the  in- 
dustry of  that  race  which  made  him  free,  and  then  come  home 
and  teach  the  memorable  lesson  of  their  experience  to  the 
fanatics  who  have  perverted  him  into  what  he  is." 

Tlie  great  wealth  acquired  by  England  from  slavery  and 
India  enabled  her  to  carry  through  the  wars  with  I^apoleon,  and 
to  put  in  motion  the  vast  machinery  which  now  manufactures 
clothing  for  the  world.  It  will  be  observed  that  simultaneously 
with  the  receipts  of  the  slave  and  India  money  began  the  credit 
system.  Tlie  fortunes  so  derived  were  loaned  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  William  began  the  national  debt.  Tliat  debt  was 
for  the  most  part  spent  in  England,  employing  labor,  but  cre- 
ating a  moneyed  aristocracy  which  draws  ^150,000,000  yearly 
from  the  people. 

The  supplies  of  Blacks  in  the  colonies  were  large,  at  a  time 
when  there  was  no  work  like  that  of  the  cotton  culture  to  give 
unlimited  expansion  to  their  labor,  and  they  were  becoming  a 
burden.  The  cessation  of  the  slave-trade  caused  a  reaction,  and 
the  demand  for  more  labor  has  since  increased  to  a  positive  in- 
convenience. When  British  philanthropy,  taking  a  lesson  from 
"  old  Hal"  and  "  Bess,"  adopted  the  idea  of  investing  in  negro 
freedom,  it  simultaneously  set  to  work  to  operate  upon  the  north- 
ern classes,  in  New  England,  and  that  in  the  true  Jesuit  style. 
That  sagacious  body  of  men  always  educated  youth  in  the 
principles  they  meant  to  spread.  The  Exeter  Hall  Jesuits  did 
not  neglect  that  mode.  The  religious  sentiment  of  New  Eng- 
land caused  Sunday-schools  to  become  very  popular  in  that 
section,  and  through  those  Exeter  Hall  operated.     Teachers 


Soi(the7'ii  Wealth  a7id  jVort/ie?'^}  Projits.  17 

were  found,  wlio,  by  tracts,  precepts,  lectures,  readings,  and  in- 
culcations of  all  sorts,  impressed  the  youthful  mind  of  the  Nortli 
with  those  sentiments,  which  they  foresaw  would,  at  no  distant 
day,  produce  fruits.  The  leaders  of  British  aristocracy  arc 
foremost  in  recognizing  the  first  budding  of  that  stem,  which, 
if  it  produces  only  an  apple  of  discord  in  this  detested  Ropul)- 
lic,  will  have  repaid  the  care  in  planting.  Until  party  jiolitics 
discovered  the  use  which  could  be  made  of  the  sentiment  tlius 
long  and  laboriously  sown  and  nurtured,  it  was  hannless.  Sin- 
gularly enough,  however,  that  Providence  which  formed  the 
black  slave  and  his  white  master,  and  which  so  strangely  inter- 
poses at  times  for  the  salvation  of  the  Union,  has  caused  to  be 
demonstrated  the  slave  nature  of  the  black,  through  the  ex- 
periment of  England,  at  the  very  moment  their  machinations 
have  brought  the  Union  into  danger. 

^  We  have  seen  how  rapidly  the  papulation  and  wealth  of  Eng- 
land, after  slumbering  for  TOO  years,  began  to  develop  itself 
under  the  influence  of  slave-accpiired  capital.  The  American 
Union  presents  a  similar  marvel,  and  from  a  similar  cause. 
Tlie  bands  of  pilgrims  who  made  settlements  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  early  in  the  17th  century,  had  slowly  multi- 
plied their  numbers  up  to  ^the  era  of  Independence.  In  170 
years,  up  to  1790,  the  Pilgrims  of  New  England  had  increased 
to  1,000,823  souls ;  and  in  the  same  period — that  is,  from  the 
settlement  of  the  colonies  to  the  settlement  of  the  federal 
compact — the  number  in  all  the  colonies  had  reached  only  to 
3,331,730  white  souls,  and  the  blacks,  under  the  active  supply 
kept  up  by  the  British  merchants,  had  only  reached  017,817. 
Tlie  capital  of  the  country  had  hardly  increased  even  in  the 
slow  ratio  of  the  population  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  colonies 
came  out  of  the  war  exhausted.  Tlie  moment  the  separati(»n 
took  place,  however,  Xew  England  became,  to  the  South  and 
slave-labor,  what  Britain  had  been.  The  population  and  wealth 
of  the  country  have  since  advanced  in  a  ratio  which,  in  50 
years,  has  made  the  former  equal  to  that  of  England,  while,  if 
the  wealth  is  not  so  great  in  the  aggregate,  it  is  better  dis- 
tributed, because  a  greater  number  of  manufacturers  partici- 
pate in  the  profits  of  slave-labor. 

Tlie  Xortli  American  colonics  were  su])plied  with  slaves  by 
England,  who  drew  thence  the  produce  of  their  labor.  AVliilo 
600,000  slaves  were  at  work  raising  produce  to  send  to  Eng- 
land, she  did  not  permit  manufactories,  and  the  colonies,  after 


IS  Southei'n  Wealth  and  Iforthern  Profits. 

200  years  of  servitude,  presented  the  same  aspect  as  the  "West 
Indies.  An  enormons  wealth  had  been  produced  here,  but  it 
was  conveyed  to  England,  leaving  the  place  of  production  as 
poor  as  ever.  It  is  urged,  sometimes,  that  emancipation  did 
not  injure  Jamaica,  since  it  was  ruined  before  that  event. 
Tliat  is  no  doubt  true.  It  had  been  used  only  as  an  instru- 
ment, and,  after  200  years'  labor,  it  still  retained  only  worn-out 
land  and  negroes.  The  ISTorth  American  colonies  were  in  the 
same  position.  Tlie  wealth  they  had  produced,  ornaments 
London  and  gilds  St.  James's.  The  dilapidated  towns  of  Ja- 
maica shelter  idle  negroes,  who  live  on  the  spontaneous  prod- 
ucts of  the  earth,  Ts^hile  they  relapse  into  barbarism.  The 
American  colonies  were  equally  exhausted  after  SOO  years  of 
industry,  but  the  600,000  blacks  have  since  been  made  steadily 
to  produce  an  increasing  ratio  of  wealth,  even  as  their  numbers 
have  swollen  to  4,000,000 ;  and,  instead  of  ruin,  they  vie  with 
the  mother  country  in  prosperity.  The  American  colonies  had 
insisted  upon  a  ce^^ation  of  the  slave-trade,  because  they  were 
overrun  with  blacks  for  whom  they  had  no  adequate  employ- 
ment. The  crown  refused.  The  separation  took  place,  and 
from  that  moment  the  New  England  States  assumed  the  po- 
sition, in  regard  to  slavery,  which  Great  Britain  had  previously 
occupied.  Tlie  IS'ew  England  States  owned  the  shipping,  and 
enjoyed  the  slave-trade.  They  accumulated  capital  in  both  ; 
and  when  the  convention  met  to  frame  the  Constitution,  it  was 
as  a  concession  to  New  England  interests  that  the  trade  was 
continued  to  1808.  The  Duke  de  Rochefoucault  Liancourt, 
travelling  in  the  United  States  in  1T95,  remarks  : 

"  Nearly  20  vessels  from  the  harl)ors  of  the  -^orthern  States 
are  employed  in  the  importation  of  negroes  to  Georgia  and  the 
West  India  isles.  The  merchants  of  Ehode  Island  are  the  con- 
ductors of  this  accursed  traffic,  which  they  are  determined  to 
persevere  in  until  the  year  1808,  the  period  fixed  for  its  linal 
termination.     Tlicy  ship  one  negro  for  every  ton  burden." 

Tlie  fisheries,  the  export  of  lumber  and  fish  to  tlie  West 
Indies  in  exchange  for  sugar  and  molasses,  the  carrying  of 
tobacco,  indigo,  &c.,  from  the  South  to  England,  thence  to 
Africa,  and  home  with  a  cargo  of  slaves,  were  the  chief  means 
of  emplo3dng  the  shipping  of  the  New  England  and  the  Middle 
States,  which  were  owners  of  nearly  all  the  shipping  of  the 
Union.     If  the  French  wars^  by  throwing  the  carrying  trade 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profts.  19 

into  tlie  hands  of  neutrals,  were  a  great  benefit  to  tlie  sliip-owners 
as  well  as  to  the  farmers  of  the  middle  States,  the  difficulties 
that  led  to  the  embargo  of  1809,  and  subsecjuently  the  war  f>f 
1812,  were  felt  only  the  more  severely  by  that  interest,  since 
both  the  slave-trade  and  the  carrying  trade  were  lost  together, 
and  the  war  was  denounced  as  the  cause  of  all  the  difficulties 
that  resulted.  It  followed  that  the  large  capital  that  had  been 
accumulated  in  that  trade,  thus  forcibly  driven  from  com- 
merce, betook  itself  to  manufacturing,  and  the  "  free  traders" 
of  New  England  became  clamorous  for  "  protection."  Since 
then  the  capital  earned  in  commerce  and  in  the  slave-trade  has 
enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  navigating,  importing,  and  manuf;ic- 
turing  for  the  South,  getting  large  pay,  swollen  by  protective 
duties,  in  the  proceeds  of  slave-labor.  In  the  mean  time,  if  the 
South  had  ceased  to  employ  northern  shipping  for  the  impor- 
tation of  negroes,  it  began  to  furnish  a  much  more  extensive 
employment  for  it  in  the  exportation  of  cotton. 


CHAPTER  II. 

COTTON  CULTURE  AND  MANUFACTUKE 

"We  have  seen  that  England,  in  the  course  of  her  colonial 
system,  had,  by  furnishing  goods  and  slaves,  and  enjoying  the 
carrying  trade  of  her  dependencies,  acquired  a  vast  capital, 
while  the  colonies  that  produced  that  wealth  had  accumulated 
nothing — they  had,  in  fact,  become  poorer.  Tlie  operation  was 
the  same  as  if  an  individual,  owning  a  town-house  and  a  farm 
of  perhaps  200  acres,  should  employ  persons  to  work  the  hitter, 
and  draw  from  it  all  its  proceeds  for  the  use  of  his  town-lious". 
If  the  farm  sliould  give  §(500  per  annum,  in  ten  years  he  would 
have  added  §0000  to  the  value  of  his  city  mansion ;  but  at  tlie 
end  of  that  time  the  fann  would  sini])ly  be  exhausted,  its  land 
and  implements  worn  out.  It  was  thus  with  Jamaica  and  the 
AYest  Indies  at  the  date  of  emancipation,  and  with  tlie  North 
American  colonies  at  the  date  of  the  sei)aration.  At  tliat  date, 
however,  three  events  occurred  which  were  to  change  the  face 
of  the  world.  These  were  the  inventions  of  the  steam-engine, 
the  cotton-jenny,  and  the  cotton-gin.  The  two  former  gave 
employment  to  the  vast  capital  of  England  in  manntactures ; 


20  Southern  Wealth  and  Northei^n  Profits. 

and  the  latter,  while  it  supplied  the  material  of  that  manufac- 
ture, opened  a  new  future  to  the  United  States,  and  laid  out  for 
the  blacks  work  Avhich  has  ever  since  increased  before  them, 
Tlie  blacks,  numerous  as  they  were  at  the  South,  had  no  em- 
ployment that  paid  theii'  support;  cotton  was  indeed  gi'own, 
but  the  difficulty  of  cleaning  it  from  the  seed  was  so  great  that 
a  man  could  prepare  but  one  pound  per  day  for  market.  lu 
1793,  Eli  Whitney  invented  a  cotton-gin  which  would  clean 
350  lbs.  per  day.  From  that  moment  the  cotton  culture  was 
established,  and  work  was  laid  out  for  not  only  the  600,000  ne- 
groes then  on  hand,  but  for  more  than  all  the  increase  since  in 
their  number ;  at  the  same  moment,  nearly,  a  demand  for  the 
cotton  was  created  by  the  inventions  of  Watt,  Arkwright,  and 
Hargraves,  which  furnished  employment  for  the  capital  of  Eng- 
land, and  a  large  portion  of  her  population,  in  manufacturing 
clothing  for  the  world,  and  in  employing  her  shipping  in  ex- 
changing that  clothing  for  the  products  of  all  nations.  The 
state  of  affairs  that  existed  at  the  South  at  the  moment  of  those 
inventions,  is  well  described  by  Judge  Johnson,  in  his  charge 
in  a  suit  brought  by  Whitney  in  Savannah,  in  1807,  to  make 
good  his  patent. 

"The  whole  of  the  interior,"  said  Judge- Johnson,  "was  lan- 
guishing, and  its  inhabitants  were  emigrating,  for  want  of  some 
object  to  engage  their  attention  and  employ  their  industry, 
when  the  invention  of  this  machine  at  once  opened  views  to 
them  which  set  the  whole  country  in  active  motion.  From 
childhood  to  age,  it  has  jjresented  to  us  a  lucrative  employ- 
ment. Individuals  who  were  dej^ressed  with  poverty  and  sunk 
in  idleness,  have  suddenly  risen  to  wealth  and  respectability. 
Our  debts  have  been  paid  off,  our  capitals  have  increased,  and 
our  lands  trebled  in  value.  We  cannot  express  the  weight  of 
obligation  which  the  country  owes  to  this  invention.  Tli(!  ex- 
tent of  it  cannot  now  be  seen." 

» 

This  clearly  indicates  the  exhausted  state  in  which  200  years 
of  colonial  dependence  had  left  the  colonies,  and  also  foresliad- 
ows  a  future  which,  as  we  shall  see,  has  been  more  than  justi- 
jied  in  the  event. 

It  was  the  gloomy  state  of  affairs  then  existing  which  caused 
the  fathers  of  the  Revolution  to  take  so  desponding  a  view  of 
the  future  of  slavery.  They  did  not  foresee  the  brilliant  future 
whicli  cotton  was  to  draw  from  that  service.  AYitli  the  opera- 
tion of  the  cotton-gin  the  culture  began  to  extend,  but  witii  it:s 


Sodfhcim  Wealth  and  I^^orthevn  Projiis.  21 

extension  tlie  price  suftered  a  decline,  for  the  rea.son  that  (L»v.-n 
to  v.ithin  ten  years  the  supply  rather  exceeded  the  demand. 
X^  vertheless,  the  increase  in  value  lias  been  enormous. 

The  value  of  cotton  has  always  been  much  influenced  liy 
the  state  of  the  crops  in  Europe.  When  food  is  dear,  as  a 
p:eneral  thing,  in  a  manufacturing  country  dependent  \\\Mm 
foreign  supplies  of  bread,  a  short  harvest  causes  such  a  rise  in 
it.s  price  as  to  absorb  the  earnings  of  the  mass  of  people  for  its 
purchase.  It  results  from  this  that  the  purchases  of  clothing 
are  much  lessened,  the  raw  material  is  less  in  demand,  and  its 
price  falls.  Naturally  this  decline  acts  upon  wages,  and  there 
is  less  employment,  at  lower  rates.  Thus  the  end  of  dear  food 
is  the  cause  of  less  means  to  buy  it ;  a  double  distress  is  thus 
produced,  which  tells  powerfully  upon  the  price  of  cottoji,  Jis 
well  as  of  other  raw  materials.  .Tlie  column  of  prices  follows 
this  rule.  In  1845,  the  first  famine  year,  the  rate  was  5.9 
cents,  and,  as  the  price  of  bread  fell,  it  rose  to  12.1  in  1851, 
and  again  fell  as  food  rose  during  the  Crimean  war,  and  has 
since  well  maintained  its  rate. 

Tlie  following  table  shows  the  crops,  distinguishing  the  At- 
lantic from  the  Gulf  States,  the  exported  quantity  and  value, 
the  price  per  pound,  and  the  number  of  blacks  at  each  census. 

Product  and  Export  of  Cotton. 


rwr. 

AtlanUc. 

CROP-B.A.LES- 

GtUf. 

Total. 

Export. 
lbs. 

Export. 
Valne. 

Price. 
U.  StaUt. 

i8oo.. 

35,000 

19.000.000 

5,726,000 

1824.. 

'.    3  33  ,'2  53 

i  75,905 

509, 1 58 

142,369,663 

2i,9.'i7,4oi 

29,674,883 

Ha 

i83o.. 

.     522.062 

348,353 

870,415 

298.459,102 

,'J 

i835.. 

.    493.405 

760.923 

1,535,054 

1,254.328 

387,35«.992 

64,961,302 

1.840.. 

.    642,287 

2,177,532 

743.941.061 
872.905,996 
635,381, O04 

63,870,307 
51,739,643 

8.5 

1845.. 

.     769.948 

1. 635.0 1 5 

2.394,503 

5..,2 

iS5o.. 

.     751,271 

1,345,435 

2,796,706 

71,984,616 
Ii2,ii5,3i7 

Hi 

i85i.. 

.     742. S46 

1.612,411 

2,333,257 

927.237,089 

12.11 

i85?.. 

.    839.625 

2.175,404 

3,015,029 

1.093.230,639 

87,965,732 

8.o5 

i853.. 

.     871,712 

2.391,170 

3,262,882 

1,111,570,370 
987,833,106 

iOQ,456,4o4 
o3, 396,220 
88,143,844 

9.«5 

1854.. 

.    7^«.649 

2,131.378 

2.930,027 

9-i7 

1855. . 

.     942,-766 

1,904,373 

2.847,339 

1,008,424,601 

8.74 

1 856.. 

..     910,192 

2,617,653 

3.527.841 

1, 35i. 431,701 

128,382,351 

949 
12. .5 

i.'<57. . 

..     775.116 

2,164.403 

2939,519 
3,113,962 

1,048.282.475 

131,575,859 

I83.S.. 

. .     746,562 

2,367.900 

1,118,624,012 

1 3 1,386,601 

11.70 

1809.. 

..1,111,954 

2,739,427 

3,85i,48i 

1,386.468,542 

161,434,92} 

II.  .0 

i860.. 

..1,480,000 

2,920,000 

4,3oo,ooo 

1,165,600,000 

184,400,000 

11.5 

The  value  here  given  is  the  export  value,  according  to  the 
offlcial  returns  of  the  Ti-easury  department;  the  value  ol"  the 
whole  crop  runs  much  higher,  ITiat  of  this  3'ear,  ISfjo,  will 
reach  4,300,000  bales— 8,200,000  having  already  been  received, 
and  sold  at  a  value  of  $54  \)(iv  bale.  At  the  same  valuation, 
the  whole  will  l)e  worth  $232,000,000,  or  $G0  for  every  black 


22  Souih&ni  Wealth  and  I^orthem  Projits. 

liancL/^liis  value  has  grown  up,  as  we  sliall  see,  in  addition  to 
ail  omer  agricultural  produce,  and  in  face  of  the  constant  de-  • 
cline  in  price.  The  war  of  1812  affected  prices  much,  produ- 
cing a  great  difference  in  value  between  Liverpool  and  the 
United  States.  That  "perturbation"  was  the  source  of  some 
immense  northern  fortunes,  by  enabling  those  with  means  to 
buy  and  hold  for  the  peace,  with  the  return  of  which  the  cul- 
ture resumed  its  course,  and  the  quantity,  which  had  reached 
509,158  bales  in  1824,  was  doubled  in  1831.  In  the  ten  years 
ending  with  1840  it  had  again  doubled  in  quantity,  involving 
a  very  great  decline  in  price.  The  discovery  in  those  years 
that  the  bottom  lands  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  could 
raise  cotton  much  cheaper  than  the  Atlantic  States,  caused  a 
great  speculative  excitement,  which  was  fostered  by  the  strug- 
gle that  took  place  between  the  late  National  Bank  and  tlie 
federal  government.  The  planters,  many  of  them  young,  with 
gangs  of  hands  from  the  paternal  estates,  migrated  to  the  new 
lands  and  entered  upon  the  culture,  through  bank  aid.  The 
lands  and  the  hands  being  mortgaged,  these  mortgages  vrere 
constituted  bank  capital  under  State  charters,  and  State  loans 
were  issued  in  aid  of  them.  The  loans  were  to  a  considerable 
extent  negotiated  through  the  United  States  Eank,  and  it  is 
somewhat  curious  that  the  bank-charter  mortgages  upon  ne- 
groes by  name  found  ready  negotiation  in  London  "  at  a  price," 
notwithstanding  the  anti-slavery  furor  which  was  then  there  in 
its  zenith.  Loans  upon  American  slaves  were  "  as  easy"  as  the 
loan  to  free  the  West  India  blacks.  The  money  thus  borrowed 
was  loaned  out  to  the  planters,  whose  cotton  was  pledged  to 
the  lenders.  The  extent  of  this  operation  may  be  estimated  by 
the  figures  furnished  by  the  census  and  Treasury  returns.  The 
following  table  gives  the  number  of  blacks  and  whites  in  the 
cotton  States,  the  crops  of  cotton,  distinguishing  the  Gulf  from 
the  Atlantic  States,  and  the  bank  capital  of  the  Gulf  States. 

In  the  table,  the  population  of  the  four  Atlantic  States  in- 
creased regularly  up  to  1830,  as  did  also  that  of  the  six  western 
States.  Florida  gave  a  return  first  in  1830,  and  Texas  not  un- 
til 185(\  although  before  its  admission  into  the  Union  that  State 
was  a  large  recipient  of  blacks  and  whites,  following  the  re- 
vulsion of  1839.  From  1830  to  1840,  the  four  Atlantic  States 
scarcely  increased  at  all,  either  in  blacks  or  whites.  In  the 
corresponding  period,  the  western  States  increased  TO  j)er  cent, 
in  slaves,  and  40  per  cent,  in  whites. 


Sout/ieni  Wraith  and  Northeni  Profits.  23 

Tlio  speculation  subsided  in  1S40,  leaving  a  very  liealtliy 
state  of  affairs ;  but  it  Avill  be  observed  that  the  production  did 
not  increase  very  rapidly  in  the  ten  years  to  1850,  altlioULrli  tlie 
value  gradually  improved.  In  the  last  ten  years,  however,  an 
immense  progress  has  been  made  in  the  production  and  vahie 
of  cotton.  Not  only  has  the  increased  number  of  hands  ad(k-d 
to  tlic  production,  but  the  number  of  bales  per  hand  that  ca;i 
be  raised  has  risen  from  4  and  5,  to  8  and  10  per  hand  in  some 
localities — while,  as  a  whole,  the  South  has  been  free  fr()m 
speculation,  but  has  accumulated  a  large  capital. 

Population,  Bank  Loans,  and  Crop  of  (he  Cotton  States. 

. 1S20. , 1S30 . 

White.              Black.  White.              Black, 

Virfrinin 603,074            423,1 53  694,300            469,767 

Xortli  Carolina 419,200          -205,017  472,843            243,6oi 

South  Caroliiiii 237,440            258,475  257,863            3i5,4oi 

Georgia 189,566            149,636  296,806            217, 53i 

1,449,280         i,o38.3oi  1,721,812         1,248,290 

Florida i8,335  i5,5oi 

Ahibaina 96,245  47,439  190,406  117,549 

Mississippi 42.176  32,8i4  70,443  63,669 

Loiu6i.anu » 73.383  69,064  09,441  109,688 

Arkans,a.s 12,679  ^Ml  23,671  4,676 

Tennessee 339.927  80.107  535,746  i4i,6o3 

Kentucky 434,644  126.732  617,787  i65,ai3 

998,964  337,773  1,447,879  619,689 

IS  10 ,  . 1S50. . 

White.              Black.  White.              Black. 

Virginia 740,968            448,987  .894,800           472,628 

North  Carolina 484,870            246,817  .■533,028            288,648 

South  Carolina 269,084            327,o38  274,563            384,o84 

Georgia '. 407,693           280,944  621,672           38i,682 

1,892,617         1,302,786  2,243,963         1,627,742 

Florida 27.943  26.717  47.2o3  39,3io 

Alabama 336,i85  253,632  426,614  342,844 

Mississippi 179,070  196,211  296,711  309,878 

Louisiana i58,457  168,462  266,491  244,809 

Texas 164,034  63.i6i 

Arkansas 77, '74  19-935  162,189  47,100 

Tennessee 640,627  183,069  766,836  239,439 

Kentucky 690,263  182,268  76i,4i3  210,981 

2,008,709         1,028,164  2,869,391  i,.<92,54J 

INrtO.  1N40.                            1S30. 

Bank  capital J3, 736.6^3  $13, 214,023  $28,707,341 

Gulf  cotton  crop 348,353  1,536,654                     i,343.43i 

Total 870,415  2,i77,83i                      2,096,206 

AVhen  tlie  cotton-gin  of  AVliitncy  laid  out  the  future  work 
of  the  blacks,  the  steam-engine  of  Watt,  and  the  jenny  of  Ilar- 
graves,  with  the  improvements  of  Arkwright  and  Crompton, 
laid  out  the  future  manufacturing  industry  of  England  and  tlie 
mode  of  employing  her  capital. 

The  old  mode  of  preparing  the  cleaned  cotton  for  spinning 


24  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

was  by  carding  it  between  two  flat  cards  in  tbe  bands  of  an 
individual,  in  order  to  straigbten  ont  tbe  fibres  as  mncli  as 
possible.  Tbe  material  so  carded  was  spun  by  a  wbeel  worked 
witb  one  band  to  give  velocity  to  a  single  spindle  tbat  spun  a 
tbread  from  tbe  cotton  beld  upon  a  distaff  in  tbe  left  band  of 
tbe  operator.  Tlie  tbread  tbus  produced  was  irregular,  and 
served  only  as  a  woof  for  linen  warp.  By  a  new  invention 
tbe  cards  were  placed  upon  a  revolving  drum,  wbicb  operated 
against  several  rollers  also  covered  witb  cards.  Tbe  action  of 
tbese  rollers  distributed  tbe  cotton  in  a  fleecy  web  upon  tbe 
surface.  Tbis  was  removed  from  tbe  last  roller  by  an  instru- 
ment wbicb  caused  tbe  cotton  to  come  off  in  long  rolls  ready 
for  spinning.  Arkwrigbt  added  rollers  tbat  were  to  "  draw  " 
tbese  rolls  as  tbey  were  carded,  so  as,  by  making  tbe  fibres  of 
cotton  more  parallel  to  eacb  otber,  to  increase  tbe  flneness  and 
regularity  of  tbe  tbread.  Tbe  invention  of  Hargraves,  in 
1764:,  was  to  put  8  spindles  in  a  frame,  and  draw  tbe  ends  in  a 
clasp  beld  by  tbe  operator.  Tbe  number  was  soon  raised  to 
80  spindles.  Samuel  Crompton,  in  17T9,  added  the  "  mule 
spinner."  Tbe  effect  of  all  tbese  inventions  was,  tbat,  wbcreas 
one  man  could  clean  1  lb.  of  cotton,  anotber  card  it,  and  anotber 
work  one  spindle,  one  man  miglit  now  clean  360  lbs.,  anotber 
card  it,  and  tbe  tbird  work  2200  spindles  instead  of  one. 

Tliese  English  inventions  were  previous  to  tbe  American  in- 
vention of  tbe  gin,  and  their  utility  depended  altogether  upon 
the  latter.  Tlie  anxiety  then  took  possession  of  the  mind  of  the 
English  manufacturer  in  relation  to  a  supply  of  material,  wbicb 
now,  after  TO  years,  is  as  active  as  ever.  Hitherto  the  demand 
lias,  as  we  have  seen,  developed  black  industry. 

From  that  moment,  the  accumulated  capital  of  England, 
New  and  Old,  became  engaged  in  the  gigantic  operation  of 
clothing  the  world  with  cotton.  Hand-loom  goods  were  every- 
where to  be  supplanted  by  those  formed  on  tbe  new  principle. 
When  Watt  started  bis  engine,  mechanical  genius  seemed  to 
have  sprung  suddenly  into  life,  and  each  subsequent  year  wit- 
nessed some  impjovement  in  machinery,  by  which  the  texture 
of  cloth  has  been  improved,  and  its  cost  diminished.  Chem- 
istry has  as  rapidly  multiplied  the  number  and  richness  of 
colors.  Tlie  art  of  apj)lying  them,  by  steel  dies  and  copper 
cylinders,  has  improved,  until  16  colors  are  imparted  at  one 
impression,  more  perfectly  than  was  one  40  years  ago  ;  and  the 
perfection  of  the  designs  is  equalled  only  by  the  excellence  of 


Southern  Wealth  and  Xorthcrn  Projits.  25 

tlie  execution.  With  each  improvement  in  texture  and  de.si^u 
and  colors,  the  fabric  is  produced  at  less  cost,  because  a  class 
of  persons  wlio  formerly  did  not  produce  at  all,  are  now  the 
chief  manufacturers.  Steam-engines  and  young  females  clothe 
the  world. 

The  export  of  cotton  goods  from  Great  Britain,  in  1800,  was 
valued  at  £3,602,4:88,  official  value.  Since  1814,  the  accounts 
have  been  kept  in  "declared"  or  real  value,  as  well  as  in  the 
otiicial  value,  •which  was  fixed  a  century  or  more  since.  The 
official  value  expresses  more  quantity  than  value,  and  a  com- 
parison of  the  official  with  the  declared  shows  the  decline  in 
prices.     Tlie  progress  of  the  trade  has  been  as  follows  : 

Liveypnpl  price  qf 

Official.  Declared.  Upland  cotton, 

i8i4 £17,655,378  £20,i33,i32  3od. 

1820 22,531,079  16,516,738  ll'/n 

i83o 41,050.969  19,335.971  6'/e 

1840 73,124,730  24,668,618  6 

i85o 113,718,401  28,257,401  qUi 

i856 163,887,196  38,232,741  6 

i858 169,201,107  42,797,000  7'/s 

In  1814  the  real  was  in  excess  of  the  official  value.  In  1850 
the  latter  had  increased  nearly  tenfold,  while  the  real  was  only 
24  per  cent,  of  it.  This  indicates  a  progressive  decline  of  7G 
per  cent,  in  the  price  of  the  goods. 

Tlie  mode  in  which  the  manufacturers  progress  was  thus 
stated  in  a  paper  read  recently  by  Mr.  David  Chadwick,  l)efore 
the  Loudon  Statistical  Society : 

"  In  1859  the  average  rate  of  wages  of  a  spinner  on  a  ])air  of 
unimproved  mules,  of  400  spindles  each,  in  producing  No.  TO's 
yarn,  are  5*.  Id.  per  20  lbs. ;  his  gross  weekly  earnings,  41.<f.  ; 
and  deducting  piecer's  wages,  16s.,  the  spinner's  net  wages  are 
25.<.'.  The  same  workman,  with  a  pair  of  '  double-deckers,'  with 
1600  spindles,  and  more  piecers,  earns  Zs.  ll^d.  per  20  lbs., 
5(».s'.  'iOd.  per  week  ;  or,  deducting  20.«.  for  piecers'  wages,  a  net 
amount  of  30.s\  lOfZ.  weekly.  Of  the  3046  cotton  factoi-ies  in 
England  and  Wales,  in  1856, 1480  were  situated  in  Lancashire  : 
23  new  mills  are  now  in  course  of  erection  in  Blackburn  and  its 
neighborhood,  and,  notwitli.standing  various  restrictions  on  the 
employment  of  young  persons,  and  the  reduction  of  the  lioure 
of  labor  for  adults  (by  the  Ten  Hours  Act  of  June,  1847),  from 
69  to  60  hours  weekly,  the  import  of  raw  cotton  increased 
from  646,000,000  1bs., 'in  1844,  to  1,034,060,000  lbs.  in  1858  ; 
•while  the  value  of  exports  of  cotton  mamifactured  good.-^,  and 


26 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


cotton  twist  and  yarns,  increased  from  26  millions  sterling  in 
1844,  to  43  millions  sterling  in  1858, — an  extension  of  one 
brancli  of  trade  in  14  years  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  any 
country  in  the  world." 

"While  the  British  cotton  trade  has  thus  been  developed,  that 
of  the  United  States  anii  Europe  has  increased,  also,  until  its 
magnitude  last  year  may  be  seen  in  the  following  table : 

Cotton  Manufactures  of  Europe  and  the  United  States. 

No.  of  Hands  Llfi.  cotton 

factories.  employed.  Spindles.                   used. 

Great  Britain 3,046  65o,ooo  21,000,000  990,000,000 

France 2,600  274,830  5,5oojooo  i4o,ooojooo 

Switzerland i32  51,908  i,ii2,3o3  3o, 000, 000 

Zollverein 208  110,190  2, 018, 536  65, 000, 000 

Austria 99  82,010    ♦  655, 000  25, 000, 000 

Belfjinm 28  28,000  5io,ooo  3i. 000, 000 

Loinbardy 33  29,000  140,000  jo, 000, 000 

Sardinia 17  14,000  210,000  17,000,000 

Kussia 55  60,000  i,ioo,ood  63, 000, 000 

United  States 90  101,000  6,000,00  426,719,000 

i,35o,938  38,245,8?9         1,797,719,000 

This  number  of  hands  embraces  only  those  directly  employed 
in  the  manufacture,  and  is  exclusive  of  all  those  who  are  en- 
gaged in  transporting  the  material  to  the  spinners  ;  in  distrib- 
uting the  goods  produced,  through  all  the  gradations  of  trade, 
to  the  hands  of  the  consumers  ;  and  also  in  the  movement  of 
the  produce  and  merchandise  received  in  exchange  for  the 
goods  ;  also  all  the  banking,  exchange,  and  insurance  business 
which  grows  out  of  this  movement. 

The  quantity  of  cotton  so  consumed  was  nearly  300,000,000 
lbs.  in  excess  of  the  United  States'  production,  yet  the  Southern 
States  are  the  sole  dependence  of  England,  Europe,  and  the 
United  States  for  a  supply  of  cotton  clothing.  The  question  of 
future  cotton  supply  is  one  that,  as  the  above  figures  indicate, 
may  well  occupy  the  minds  of  the  manufacturers.  There  arc 
many  sources  of  supply,  but  the  United  States  alone  furnish, 
more  than  they  consume.,  and  alone  produce  the  requisite  qual- 
ity. In  order  to  understand  this,  we  give  the  following  paper 
upon  the  subject,  read  by  J.  B.  Smith,  Esq.,  membei-for  Stock- 
port, before  the  Society  of  Arts. 

"  Every  one  seems  adequately  impressed  with  the  desirable- 
ness, not  to  say  the  necessity,  of  extending  and  multiplying  to 
the  utmost  possible  extent,  the  sources  whence  we  derive  the 
supply  of  this  raw  material  of  our  greatest  national  manufac- 
ture.    But  one  branch  of  the  question,  though  a  most  essential 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Projits.  27 

one,  appears  to  have  been  nearly  overlooked.  We  need  not 
only  a  large  supply  and  a  cheap  supply,  but  a  supply  of  a  pe- 
culiar kind  and  quality. 

"  For  practical  purposes,  and  to  facilitate  the  comprehension 
of  the  subject  by  non-professional  readers,  -we  may  state  in 
general  terms  that  the  cotton  required  for  the  trade  of  Great 
Britain  may  be  classitied  into  three  divisions — the  long-staple, 
the  medium- staple,  and  the  short-staple. 

"  1.  The  long-staple  (or  long-iibrc)  cotton  is  used  for  making 
the  warp,  as  it  is  technically  called  ;  i.  e.,  the  longitudimil 
threads  of  the  woven  tissue.  Thes(;  threads,  when  of  the  finer 
sorts — for  all  numbers,  say  above  50's — must  be  made  of  long 
staple-cotton  ;  for  numbers  below  50's,  they  may  be  made  <)f 
it,  and  would  be  so  made  were  it  as  cheap  as  the  lower  (piali- 
ties  of  the  raw  material.  No  other  quality  of  cotton  is  strong 
enough  or  long  enough  either  to  spin  into  the  higher  and  finer 
numbers,  or  to  sustain  the  tension  and  friction  to  which  the 
threads  are  exposed  in  the  loom. 

'•  2.  Tlie  medium-staple  cotton,  on  the  contrary,  is  used 
partly  for  the  lower  numbers  of  the  warp  (and,  as  such,  enters 
largely  into  the  production  of  the  vast  quantities  of  '  cotton 
yarn'  and  sewing-thread  exported),  but  mainly  lor  the  weft,  or 
transverse  threads  of  the  woven  tissue.  It  is  softer  and  silkier 
than  the  quality  spoken  of  above,  makes  a  fuller  and  rounder 
thread,  and  iills  up  the  fabric  better.  The  long-staple  article 
is  never  used  for  this  j)urpose,  and  could  not,  however  cheap, 
be  so  used  with  advantage ;  it  is  ojjdinarily  too  harsh.  For 
the  warp,  strength  and  length  of  fibre  is  required ;  for  the 
weft,  softness  and  fulness.  Now,  as  the  lower  numbers  of 
'  yarn'  require  a  far  larger  amount  of  raw  cotton  for  their  pro- 
duction than  the  higher,  and  constitute  the  chief  portion  (in 
weight)  both  of  our  export  and  consumption,  and  as,  more- 
over, every  yard  of  calico  or  cotton  woven  fabric,  technically 
called  cloth,  is  composed  of  from  two  to  five  times  as  nnicli 
weft  as  warp,  it  is  obvious  that  we  need  a  far  larger  su|)i)ly  of 
tliis  peculiar  character  of  cotton,  the  medium-staple,  than  <»f 
any  other. 

"  3.  The  short-staple  cotton  is  used  almost  exclusively  for 
weft  (except  a  little  taken  for  candle-wicks),  or  for  the  very 
lowest  numbers  of  warp,  say  Id's  and  under.  But  it  is  ditl'er- 
ent  in  character  from  the  second  description,  as  well  as  shorter 
in  fibre;  it  is  drier,  fuzzier,  more  like  rough  wool  ;  and  cannot 
be  substituted  for  it  witluait  impoverishing  the  nature  of  the 
cloth,  and  making  it,  especially  after  washing  or  l)leaching, 
look  thinner  and  more  meagre ;  and  for  the  same  reason  it  can 
onlj-  be  blended  with  it  with  much  caution,  and  in  very  mod- 
erate proportions.  But  its  color  is  usually  goijd  ;  and  its  com- 
parative cheapness  is  its  great  recommendation. 


28  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

"  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  while  we  require  for  the 
purposes  of  our  manufacture  a  limited  quantity  of  the  first  and 
third  qualities  of  raw  cotton,  we  need  and  can  consume  an  al- 
most unlimited  supply  of  the  second  quality.  In  this  fact  lies 
our  real  diliiculty  ;  ibr,  while  several  quarters  of  the  world 
suppl^y  the  first  sort,  and  India  could  supply  enormous  quan- 
tities of  the  third  sort,  the  United  States  of  America  alone 
have  hitherto  produced  the  second  and  most  necessary  kind. 

"1.  The  finest  long  cotton  in  the  world  is  called  the  'Sea 
Island.'  It  is  grown  on  the  low-lying  lands  and  small  islands 
on  the  coast  of  Georgia.  'Jlie  quantity  is  small,  and  the  price 
very  high.  It  is  used  mostly  for  muslin  thread,  and  the  very 
finest  numbers  of  yarn — say  lOO's  and  upwards  ;  and  price,  in 
fact,  is  of  little  moment  to  the  manufacturers  wdio  purchase  it. 
It  usually  sells  at  about  two  shillings  per  pound.  A  quality 
much  resembling  it,  and  almost  if  not  quite  as  good,  has  been 
grown,  as  a  sample  article,  in  Australia.  But  of  this  denomina- 
tion of  cotton  the  consumption  is  very  small.  Another  species — 
long,  strong,  fine,  and  j^ellowish — is  grown  in  Egypt,  and  im- 
ported in  considerable  quantities.  An  inferior  quality — coarse, 
harsh,  bright  in  color,  but  strong — is  imported  from  Brazil, 
and  a  very  small  quantity  from  the  West  Indies.  Doubtless 
if  the  price  were  adequate,  and  the  demand  here  very  great 
and  steady,  the  supply  from  many  of  these  quarters  might  be 
largely  augmented.  But  it  is  not  of  this  sort  that  we  need  any 
considerable  increase,  nor  could  we  afibrd  the  price  which 
probably  alone  would  remunerate  the  grower. 

"  3.  Our  great  consumption  and  demand  is  for  the  soft, 
white,  silky,  moderately  long  cotton  of  America — the  quality 
usually  called  '  Uplands,'  '  Bowed  Georgia,'  and  '  New  Or- 
leans.' This  used  to  be  sold  at  prices  varying  from  ^d.  to  Qd. 
per  pound  (it  is  now  from  6rZ.  to  %d.) :  it  can  be  consumed  in 
any  quantity  ;  for  it  is  available  not  only  for  weft  but  for 
warp,  except  for  the  finer  numbers.  AYe  need  and  consume  nine 
bags  of  this  cotton  for  one  bag  of  all  other  qualities  put  together. 

'*  3.  It  is  the  insuflicient  supply,  or  the  higher  price  of  this 
cotton,  that  has  driven  our  manufacturers  upon  the  short-stapled 
native  article  of  India,  commonly  called  Surat.  If  the  price 
of  the  two  were  equal,  scarcely  a  bag  of  Surat  would  be  cm- 
ployed.  When  the  price  of  American  cotton  rises,  owing  to 
an  inadequate  supply,  that  of  East  India  cotton  follows  it  at  a 
considerable  interval — the  usual  ratio  being  two  to  three — and 
the  import  of  the  latter  is  greatly  stimulated.  It  is  always 
grown  in  India  in  large  quantities,  and  with  improved  means 
of  communication  and  more  careful  preparation,  might  be  siip- 
plied  in  time  in  indefinite  and  probably  ample  quantities.  But 
it  is  its  quality  that  is  in  fa\ilt ;  and,  as  far  as  the  past  is  a 
guide,  it  would  seem  incurably  in  fault.     Many  attempts  to 


J^oid/wm  Wealth  and  Xovthern  l^vofits.  29 

amend  the  character  of  this  cotton  liave  been  made.  American 
planters  and  American  "  saw-gins"  liave  been  sent  over,  and 
American  seed  lias  been  planted ;  and  the  result  has  been  a 
sensible  amelioration  in  cleanliness  and  color,  and  some  slight 
increase  in  length  of  fibre,  bnt  scarcely  any  change  in  specific 
character.  The  dry,  fuzzy,  Avoolly  characteristics  remain. 
Sometimes  the  first  year's  samples  nearly  resemble  the  Amer- 
ican article,  but  the  resemblance  never"  becomes  permanent. 
Hitherto  (we  believe  we  are  correct  in  stating),  either  from 
the  peculiarity  of  the  soil  or  of  tlie  climate,  or  as  some  say, 
from  adulteration  by  the  air-borne  pollen  of  the  inferior  native 
plant,  the  improved  and  altered  character  of  the  cotton  has 
never  been  kept  up. 

"We  are  far  from  saying  that  this  difliculty  may  not  be  over- 
come, and  American  cotton  be  naturalized  in  our  East  Indian 
possessions ;  but  certainly  the  results  of  our  past  efforts  have 
not  been  of  favorable  augury.  So  far  as  our  own  observation 
and  experience  have  gone,  only  from  two  other  parts  of  the 
world  have  we  seen  samples  of  cotton  analogous  in  cliaracter 
to  that  of  the  United  States,  and  equally  available  for  our  pur- 
poses :  one  of  these  was  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  where  we 
understand  there  is  a  considerable  native  growth,  which  doubt- 
less our  commerce  might  encourage  and  increase  ;  the  other  is 
the  opposite  side  of  the  continent,  where  Port  Natal  has  ex- 
ported some  very  hopeful  samples,  soft  and  silky,  but  not  clean 
nor  of  a  very  good  color,  but  still  decidedly  American  in  quality. 

"  The  point  we  have  to  bear  in  mind,  then,  is  this  :  our  de- 
sideratum is  not  simply  more  cotton,  but  more  cotton  of  the 
same  character  and  price  as  that  now  imported  from  the  States. 
If  India  were  to  send  us  two  millions  of  bales  of  Surat  cotton 
per  annum,  the  desideratum  would  not  be  supplied,  and  our 
perilous  problem  would  be  still  unsolved.  \\  e  should  be  al- 
most as  dependent  on  America  as  ever." 

In  accordance  with  this  idea  of  procuring  a  supply  of  cotton, 
the  attention  of  English  statesmen,  manufacturers,  travellers, 
and  commercial  men  has  been  directed  to  all  countries  where 
cotton  may  be  grown,  and  false  hopes  are  continually  raised  only 
to  be  disappointed.  Tlie  present  sources  of  British  supply  arc 
as  follows  : 

Receipts  of  Cotton  into  Great  Britain. 

1S35.  1841.  IS  15.  1S50.  IS.17. 

United  States 28:i,855,38o    336,647,79^    626,65o,/,i2    493,i53,ii2    654,73-^,o48 

Brazil 27,5:io,3oo       i5,:;88,974      2o,i57,633      30,299,982       29,910,832 

Ecryptian 11,917,208       ii,i62,336       14,614,699       18,931,414       24,882,144 

West  Indies 2,5i8,836       10,739,840      88.394,448  228,913        1,443,568 

Eastlndies 43,876,820     100,104, 5io      58,437.426     118,872,742     25o.338,i44 

All  other 725,336        2,090,698        7,986,160 

Totallbs 368,698,544     474,063,453     721,979,953     669,576,861     969,318,896 


30  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

The  influences  at  work  in  India,  in  Egypt,  and  the  West  In- 
dies, favored  by  the  rise  in  prices,  developed  the  snpply.  In 
1841,  the  quantity  shipped  by  India  rose  to  a  high  point,  be- 
cause the  China  war  turned  much  of  it  from  its  nsnal  destina- 
tion. After  that  event  the  snpply  fell  to  a  low  figure  from 
that  source.  Of  late  it  has  steadily  increased  under  the  rising 
value  of  the  article,  seemingly  justifying  the  hopes  of  those 
who  looked  to  India  as  a  source  of  suppl3^  There  has  arisen, 
however,  another  feature,  which,  as  far  as  the  markets  of  the 
world  go,  entirely  neutralizes  that  Indian  supply.  It  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact,  that  step  by  step  as  the  shipment  of  raw  cot- 
ton from  India  has  increased,  the  demand  there  for  goods  has 
improved.  In  fact,  this  demand  has  outrun  the  supply  of  the 
material,  and  India  is  every  year  becoming  more  important  as 
a  cotton  consumer.  The  following  table  will  show  the  quan- 
tity of  cotton  goods  sent  from  England  to  India,  with  the 
equivalent  weight  in  raw  cotton,  together  with  the  weight  of 
cotton  received  thence : 

Cotton  Ex'ports  from  England  to  India. 

Aggrer/ate,  rata  Raw  coUon 

Yorn.                     Calicoes.  cotton  to  India.            imported 

lbs.                         yard-i.  lbs.  from  India. 

i835 5,3o5,2i2              54,227,084  16,000,000              43,876820 

1841 i3,63g,562  I26,oo3,4oo  48,000,000  ioo,io4,5io 

1S45 14,116,237  193,029,703  60,000,000               58,437,426 

1857 20,027,809  469,958,011  i3o,ooo,ooo  25o,338,i44 

iS58 36,889,583  791,537^041  223,000,000  132,722,57'j 

The  year  1857  was  an  exceptional  year  for  imports  of  cotton 
from  India.  In  the  year  1858  it  appears  91,000,000  j)ounds 
more  cotton  have  been  sent  to  India  than  was  received  thence. 
If  Ave  were  to  include  China  in  the  calculation  the  result  would 
be  still  more  remarkable,  since  China  took  in  1857, 121,000,000 
yards  of  cloth.  And  as  China  derives  a  great  deal  of  raw  cot- 
ton from  India,  if  that  article  is  sent  to  England  for  manufac- 
ture, and  then  sent  to  China  in  the  shape  of  goods  instead  3f 
as  raw  material,  the  result  may  be  beneficial  to  English  w^ork- 
shops,  but  it  does  not  increase  the  European  supply  of  cotton. 

If  we  turn  to  Egypt  and  Turkey,  we  find  that  in  1858  there 
were  derived  thence  38,2-18,112  pounds  of  raw  cotton,  and  there 
were  sent  thither  10,389,353  pounds  yarn,  and  257,567,351 
yards  cloth;  together  equal  to  62,000,000  pounds  of  raw  cotton, 
23,700,000  pounds  more  than  was  received.  The  fact  is  the 
same  in  relation  to  South  America.  The  United  States  alone 
afford  a  net  surplus  of  cotton  above  the  weight  of  goods  they 


Soiithtv'71  Wealth  and  XoHhcrn  Profits.  'M 

buy  back.  This  process  seems  to  be  on  llic  increase,  since  all 
those  distant  nations,  as  they  progress  in  wealth,  demand  ma- 
chine goods.  Thdse  are  supplanting,  apparently,  the  rude 
hand-loom  goods  of  China  and  India;  and  Avhere  the  clothing 
of  200,000,000  is  liable  to  nndergo  this  change,  the  prospect  is 
tliat,  how  great  soever  may  be  the  increased  i^roduction  of 
cotton,  it  cannot  keep  pace  with  the  demand  for  goods. 

Tlie  French  Emperor  now  proposes  to  follow  the  example  of 
England  and  Germany,  and  remove  the  dnty  on  cotton,  as  a 
bonus  to  its  manufacturers,  in  compensation  of  a  reduction  in 
protective  duties.  This  cannot  fail  to  give  a  new  impulse  to 
the  cotton  demand. 

In  the  late  debate  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  subject  of 
slave-grown  cotton,  great  glorification  was  raised  over  the  pro- 
duction of  cotton  in  Africa,  and  Lord  Wodehouse  read  fnjni 
Dr.  Livingstone  a  letter,  dated  May  12,  1859,  as  follows : 

"  Cotton  is  cultivated  largely,  and  the  further  we  went  the 
crop  appeared  to  be  of  the  greater  importance.  The  women 
alone  were  well  clothed  with  the  produce,  the  men  being 
content  with  goat-skins  and  cloth  made  of  bark  of  certain 
ti-ees.  Every  one  spins  and  weaves  cotton.  Even  chiefs  may 
be  seen  with  the  spindle  and  bag,  which  serves  as  a  distaff. 
The  process  of  manufacturing  is  the  most  rude  and  tedirms  that 
can  be  conceived.  The  cotton  goes  through  five  processes  with 
the  fingers  before  it  comes  to  the  loom.  Time  is  of  no  value. 
They  possess  two  varieties  of  the  plant.  One,  indigenous, 
yields  cotton  more  like  wool  than  that  of  other  countries.  It 
is  strong,  and  feels  rough  in  the  hand.  The  other  variety  is 
from  imported  seed,  yielding  a  cotton  that  renders  it  unneces- 
sary to  furnish  the  people  with  American  seed.  A  point  in  its 
culture  worth  noticing  is,  the  time  of  planting  has  been  selected 
so  that  the  plants  remain  in  the  ground  during  winter,  and  fivo 
months  or  so  after  sowing  they  come  to  maturity,  before  the 
rains  begin  or  insects  come  forth  to  damage  the  crop." 

If  it  were  admitted  that  those  blacks  could  raise  and  get  to 
market  a  considerable  quantity  of  cotton — and  the  matter  is 
hardly  possible — what  would  be  the  result?  "Why,  that  all  the 
laboriously  hand-made  goods  now  used  by  them  would  be 
superseded  by  machine  goods,  and  the  demand  for  these  would 
still  exceed  the  supply  of  cotton. 

The  consumption  of  cotton  in  the  three  countries  where  it  is 
most  used  is  as  follows  : 


32  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

Population.  lbs.  nsed.           Per  head. 

France 36, 039,364  140,000,000  4 

Great  Britain 28,4i6,5o8  253, 000, 000               9 

United  States 3o, 000, 000  368, 000,000              I2 

Eest  of  Europe 213,476,424  | 

Asia 775,000,000!-  1,096,719,000                I 

Best  of  America 29,411,000  ) 

Africa 200,000,000  

Total 1,217,887,424  1,797,719,000 

These  figures  sliow  the  quantities  that  are  consumed  of  ma- 
chine goods.  As  the  use  of  the  goods  extends  in  Europe,  to 
bring  the  rate  per  head  up  to  the  consumption  of  France  will 
require  900  million  pounds  more  of  American  cotton.  To  raise 
the  consumption  in  Asia  to  that  of  France  will  require  more 
than  double  the  present  supply,  and  to  take  Africa  into  the 
account,  there  will  be  still  800  millions  more  added.  Thus 
there  is  a  prospective  demand  for  4700  million  pounds  more 
cotton  than  is  now  grown,  even  to  reach  the  French  rate  of 
consumption. 

Tliese  results  follow :  1.  That  while  the  use  of  cotton  clothing 
is  rapidly  extending  throughout  the  world,  the  U.  States 
alone  furnish  more  than  they  iise.  2d.  That  the  extension  of 
the  cotton  manufacture  in  the  South  is  taking  proportions  that 
will  soon  enable  her  to  refuse  cotton  at  all  except  in  the  shape 
of  goods.     Tlie  South  is  master  of  the  position. 

As  an  indication  of  the  extension  of  the  British  cotton  trade, 
the  following  table,  from  ofHcial  sources,  shows  the  destination 
of  cotton  cloths : 

Exports  of  Plain  and  Dyed  Goods  from  Great  Britain.,  in  yards. 

1846.  1S5S. 

Hanse  Towns 42,364,421  52,ii6,i5i 

Holland 29,020,699  30,289,362 

Portugal 38,068,792  56.234.370 

Turkey,  &c 76,702,784  243,875,534 

Egypt 7,530,289  63,97o,3o5 

United  States 24,196,724  ]54,8i8,i34 

Foreign  West  Indies 34,959,583  52, 843, 406 

Brazil 108,900,77a  124,922,834 

Buenos  Ayres 2,660,178  28.657,209 

Chili  and  Peru 46,373,072  65,578,796 

China 73.561,889  138.488,957 

Java 37,737,234 

Gibraltar 17,491,264  29,311, 554 

Briti.sh  North  America 28,556,3i8  27,910,772 

British  West  Indies 35, 524,218  43,019,274 

British  Ea.st  Indies 196,140,700  791,537,041 

Australia 29,115,064 

Other  countries 193.472,277  352,352,5x9 

Total  yards 885,923,978  2,822,780,716 

The  increase  in  this  period  has  been  nearly  200  per  cent. 
Tlie  progress  of  the  trade  has  been  mostly  to  the  countries 


Smithcni  Wealth  and  JVtnihovi  Profits.  33 

which  furnish  raw  material  in  jjaynient.  Europe  lias  taken  hut 
a  small  proportion  of  the  increase.  The  countries  of  the  East 
are  those  which  present  the  largest  outlet.  If  we  now  look  at 
the  number  of  bales  of  cotton  taken  for  consumption  on  the 
continent  of  Europe  last  year,  we  shall  have  results  as  follows : 

Bales  of  Cotton  taken  for  Consumption  in  Europe  in  1859. 

U.  States. 

Great  Britain 1,907,000 

France 452,ooo 

Belgium 38,ooo 

Holland 62.000 

Germany 1 46,000 

Triegte 3 1 ,000 

Genoa 41 ,000 

Spain 109,000 

Surplus  of  export — G.  Britain       94,000 


Brazil 

if:  Ind. 

Kind. 

SgypU 

TotaU. 

IOD,000 

6,000 

177,000 
1 5,000 

S;o"° 

2,294.000 

5,000 

17,000 

523,000 

1,000 

25,000 

64,000 

3,000 

59,000 

1,000 

123.000 

5,000 

61,000 

212,000 

14,000 

21,000 

66.000 

11,000 

1,000 

53,000 

8,000 

1,000 

118,000 

6,000 

79,000 

1 5,000 

194,000 

124,000 

32,000 

442,000 

173,000 

3,65i,ooo 

Total  deliveries 2,880 

Of  3,651,000  bales  delivered  for  consumption  in  1859,  the 
United  States  supplied  2,880,000  bales,  and  with  those  large 
deliveries,  the  stock  on  hand  at  the  close  of  the  year  did  not 
increase.  Under  these  circumstances  there  is  little  surprise 
that  the  question  of  cotton  supply  should  become  so  anxiously 
discussed.  The  "  London  cotton-supply  reporter  "  of  Feb.  3, 
remarks : 

"Upwards  of  500,000  workers  are  now  employed  in  our  cotton 
factories,  and  it  has  been  estimated  that  at  least  4,000,000  per- 
sons in  the  country  are  dependent  upon  the  cotton  trade  for 
subsistence.  A  century  ago  Lancashire  contained  a  population 
of  only  300,000  persons ;  it  now  numbers  2,300,000.  In  the 
same  period  of  time,  this  enormous  increase  exceeds  that  on  any 
other  equal  surface  of  the  globe,  and  is  entirely  owing  to  the 
development  of  the  cotton  trade.  In  185G  there  were,  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  2,210  factories,  running  28,000,000  spindk-.'i 
and  209,000  looms,  by  97,000  horse-power.  Since  that  i>eriod 
a  considerable  number  of  new  mills  have  been  erected,  and 
extensive  additions  have  been  made  to  the  spinning  a7id  weav- 
ing machinery  of  those  previously  in  existence. 

"The  amount  of  actual  capital  invested  in  the  cotton  trade 
of  this  kingdom  is  estimated  to  be  between  £00,000,000  and 
£70,000,000  sterling. 

"Tlie  quantity  of  cotton  inqmrted  into  tliis  country  in  l'^r»9 

was  1,181^  million  pounds'  weight,  the  value  of  which  at  i)d. 

per  lb.  is  equal  to  £30,000.000  sterling.     Out  of  2,s-J9,110 

bales  of  cotton  imported  into  Great  Britain,  America  has  sup- 

3 


) 

1 
34  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

plied  lis  with  2,086,341 — that  is,  5-7 ths  of  the  whole.  In  other 
■words,  out  of  every  7  lbs.  imported  from  all  countries  into  Great 
Britain,  America  has  supplied  5  lbs.,  India  has  sent  us  about 
500,000  bales,  Egypt  about  100,000,  South  America,  124,000, 
and  other  countries  between  8,000  and  9,000  bales.  In  1859 
the  total  value  of  the  exports  from  Great  Britain  amounted  to 
£130,513,185,  of  which  £47,020,920  consisted  of  cotton  goods 
and  yarns.  Thus,  more  than  one-third,  or  £1  out  of  every  £3  of 
our  entire  exports,  consists  of  cotton.  Add  to  this  the  propor- 
tion of  cotton  which  forms  part  of  £12,000,000  more  exported 
in  the  shape  of  mixed  woollens,  haberdashery,  millinery,  silks, 
apparel,  and  slops.  Great  Britain  alone  consumes  annually 
£24,000,000  worth  of  cotton  goods.  Two  conclusions,  there- 
fore, may  safely  be  drawn  from  the  facts  and  iigures  now  cited : 
first,  that  the  interests  of  every  cotton-worker  are  bound  up 
with  a  gigantic  trade  which  keeps  in  motion  an  enormous  mass 
of  capital,  and  this  capital,  machinery,  and  labor  depend  for 
five-sevenths  of  its  employment  upon  the  slave  States  of  Amer- 
ica for  prosperity  and  continuance ;  secondly,  that  if  a  war 
should  at  any  time  break  out  between  England  and  America, 
a  general  insurrection  take  place  among  the  slaves,  disease 
sweep  oii'  those  slaves  by  death,  or  the  cotton  crop  fall  short  in 
quantity,  whether  from  severe  frosts,  disease  of  the  plant,  or 
other  possible  causes,  our  mills  would  be  stopped  for  want  of 
cotton,  employers  would  be  ruined,  and  famine  would  stalk 
abroad  among  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of  work-people 
who  are  at  present  fortunately  well  employed. 

"  Calculate  the  consequences  for  yourself.  Imagine  a  dearth 
of  cotton,  and  you  may  picture  the  horrors  of  such  a  calamity 
from  the  scenes  you  may  possibly  have  witnessed  when  the 
mills  have  only  run  on  "  short  time."  Count  up  all  the  trades 
that  are  kept  going  out  of  the  wages  of  the  working  classes, 
independent  of  builders,  mechanics,  engineers,  colliers,  &c., 
employed  by  the  mill-owners.  Railways  would  cease  to  j^ay, 
and  our  ships  would  lie  rotting  in  their  ports,  should  a  scarcity 
of  the  raw  material  for  manufacture  overtake  us." 

Tlie  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce,  at  about  the  same 
date,  discussed  the  same  question,  and  the  chairman,  in  ad- 
dressing the  meeting,  drew  the  attention  of  the  members  to  the 
state  of  the  cotton  trade  itself;  to  the  amazing  increase  in  the 
trade  during  the  last  year ;  and  to  the  necessity  there  was  for 
forethought  for  seeing  where  they  stood.     "He  had  made,  at 


Sout/icrn  Wealth  and  Nmihcrn  Projix 

some  trouble,  a  calculation  of  the  probable  cxporlj^ij^r*  .thp 
present  year.  Tliese  would  very  nearly  amount  to  £40,000'; 
which  would  be  nearly  an  increase  of  £3,000,000  on  last  year, 
and  of  £5,000,000  upon  the  year  previous.  Tliat  was  a  start- 
linii;  increase ;  but  on  coming  to  look  whence  it  arose,  it  would 
be  seen  that  it  was  due  solely  to  one  portion  of  the  world — 
India  and  China.  Looking  at  the  whole  state  of  the  cotton 
trade,  we  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the  dejpixciation  before 
1857.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  increase  of  the  exports  to  In- 
dia, the  cotton  trade  would  not  have  stood  in  as  good  a  position 
as  it  was  previous  to  the  crisis.  The  cause  of  the  great  increase 
in  the  demand  for  goods  for  India  arose  in  the  amazing  increase 
in  the  capital  sent  out  to  that  country,  which,  during  the  last 
three  years,  would  not  amount  to  less  than  £60,000,000.  AVe 
must  not  consider  the  present  state  of  the  cotton  trade  as  the 
normal  one,  for  unless  these  loans  were  continued  wo  should 
not  find  the  incz'ease  of  exports  continue  to  the  East.  If  so,  the 
state  of  our  cotton  trade  would  be  much  changed  in  twelve 
months.  Tlie  export  to  India  this  year  would  amount  to  up- 
wards of  £17,000,000,  and  from  this  it  would  be  seen  that  tlie 
proportion  of  our  cotton  exports  to  the  East  was  £17,000,000 
out  of  £46,000,000.  If  our  cotton  trade  was  to  be  increasc<l  it 
must  probably  be  with  the  East,  and  this  Iwought  him  to  the 
question  of  the  policy  of  the  Indian  government.  The  report 
stated  that  they  had  sent  a  resolution  protesting  against  any  in- 
creased duties  on  manufactures  to  the  East.  There  was  a  rumor 
afloat  that  these  duties  were  to  be  increased,  and  if  they  were 
they  would  materially  affect  our  prosperity.  Nothing  could 
be  more  unsound  in  policy  than  increased  duties  on  manufac- 
tured goods,  going  into  a  part  really  of  our  own  country.  It 
was  burning  the  candle  at  both  ends,  so  to  speak  ;  taxing  (»ur- 
selves  for  exports  from  India,  and  for  the  imports  of  these  same 
cotton  goods  again." 

This  condition  of  the  Indian  trade  is  no  doubt  correctly 
stated.  The  system  of  transferring  capital  to  England  had 
nearly  exhausted  the  country,  and  the  cpiestion  presented  itself  c»f 
abandoning  the  country,  or  endeavoring  to  restore  its  activity. 
Capital  had  become  cheap  in  England,  and  dear  in  India;  fol- 
lowing the  law  of  trade,  therefore,  it  returns,  and  with  its  return 
revives  the  demand  for  goods,  which  thus  far  outruns  the  pro- 
duction of  cotton.  As  the  prosperity  of  India  increases,  the 
demand  for  goods  will  become  still  more  considerable.     The 


36  Southei'ii  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

discussion  in  the  House  of  Lords,  Jan.  27,  was  to  the  same 
effect. 

"  Lord  Brougham,  in  rising  to  move,  according  to  notice,  for 
returns  relating  to  the  importation  of  cotton,  said  lie  understood 
there  would  be  no  objection  on  the  part  of  the  government  to 
granting  them.  He  thought  it  would  be  most  satisfactory  to  all 
to  know,  that  since  the  repeal  of  the  duly  upon  cotton  there 
had  been  such  an  enormous  increase  in  the  importation  of  cot- 
ton, from  63,000,000  lbs.  to  1,024,000,000  lbs.,  an  increase  of 
sixteen-fold,  and  the  importations  from  the  United  States  alone 
had  risen  from  23,000,000  lbs.  to  830,000,000  lbs.,  or  an  in- 
crease of  thirty-two-fold.  This  enormous  increase  in  the  impor- 
tation of  cotton — so  advantageous  to  our  manufacturers  and  the 
community  generally — had  been  accomplished  at  the  trifling 
cost  of  £500,000,  which  was  the  amount  of  the  duty  upon  cotton 
previous  to  its  remission.  Lie  hoped  the  fact  would  be  an  en- 
couragement to  us  to  repeal  duties  without  any  regard  to  what 
was  called  the  reciprocity  system,  but  to  repeal  them  simply 
beca,use  we  wished  to  get  rid  of  the  burden  imposed  upon  us 
by  those  duties.  Tliere  were  now  no  less  than  480  articles  upon 
which  excise  or  customs  duties  were  levied,  to  the  great  dis- 
comfort of  trade,  and  the  injury  of  those  who  dealt  in  those 
articles,  while  the  total  product  to  the  revenue  was  under 
£1,000,000 ;  indeed,  he  believed  it  was  only  aboiit  £630,000. 
He  rejoiced  in  the  benefits  which  had  resulted  to  the  people  of 
the  United  States  from  our  repeal  of  the  duty  on  raw  cotton  ; 
but  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  some  of  our  own  colonies 
presented  great  facilities  for  the  growth  of  cotton,  and  he  hoped 
that  in  British  Guiana,  Jamaica,  and  in  Africa,  every  encour- 
agement would  be  afforded  by  the  government  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  this  most  important  material.  Above  all,  he  trusted 
that  a  trade  in  cotton  would  be  opened  up  on  the  coast  of 
Africa,  in  the  districts  explored  by  Dr.  Livingstone,  for  upon 
the  high  land  of  that  country  cotton  to  any  amount,  and  of  the 
best  quality,  might,  with  a  slight  encouragement,  be  raised.  He 
was  told  that  a  capital  of  £20,000,  judiciously  directed  there, 
would  be  sufficient  to  secure  this  very  great  advantage ;  and  he 
did  hope  that  if  it  wei-e  inexpedient  for  the  government  to  in- 
terfere in  such  matters,  his  wealthy  friends  at  Manchester  and 
Liverpool  would  lend  a  hand  to  raise  that  sum  of  money." 

After  much  vituperation  of  the  United  States  on  the  part  of 
the  noble  lord — 


Souf/icrn  W('alt/i  and  Xorthern  Profits.  87 

''Tlic  Bishop  of  Oxford  hatl  heard  with  satisfaction  what  liad 
fallen  from  the  noble  duke.  It  was  quite  true  that  it  was  not 
the  custom  of  the  British  government  to  engage  in  direct  8]>ec- 
ulations  to  promote  the  trade  in  any  article,  but  with  regard  to 
the  growth  of  cotton,  the  British  government  liad  rendered 
great  assistance  in  another  way — namely,  by  making  the  high- 
ways of  the  great  continent  of  Africa — the  rivers — accessible  to 
Kuglish  merchants,  so  that  cotton  might  be  cultivated  on  each 
side  of  them,  and  the  traders  have  a  safe  passage  up  and  dcnvu. 
Tlic  difticulty  whicli  was  experienced  in  other  countries,  of  ob- 
taining free  labor  to  produce  cotton,  did  not  exist  in  AlVica, 
where  there  was  an  abundant  native  population,  whose  c\dti ra- 
tion of  cotton  would  be  attended  with  the  additional  advantage 
of  introducing  a  wholesome  and  la^\i:ul  commerce,  which  would 
absolutely  destroy  the  slave-trade  ;  for  the  only  way  by  Avhich 
that  trade  could  be  ultimately  destroyed  was  by  teaching  tlie 
African  chuffs  that  the  ein]ploymcnt  of  their  dejpendent people  in 
the  production  of  the  raw  raater'ml  of  cotton.,  woxdd  he  more  ad- 
vantageous than  the  selling  them,  into  slavenjfor  tranqyortation 
to  other  p>arts  of  the  icorld.  He  therefore  earnestly  trusted  that 
the  attention  of  the  ^overmnent  would  be  directed  to  the  main- 
tenance and  even  to  the  increase  of  efforts  for  opening  the  great 
rivers  in  Africa,  especially  the  Zambesi,  the  opening  of  which 
he  believed  the  government  was  about  to  aid,  and  the  Niger, 
which  for  years  the  government  had  assisted  in  opening. 
(Hear,  hear.) 

"  Lord  Overstone  believed  that  a  question  of  more  importance 
than  that  relating  to  the  extension  of  the  som-ce  for  the  supply 
of  the  raw  material  of  cotton  could  not  be  brought  under  the 
consideration  <^f  the  Legislature.  (Hear,  hear.)  He  had  there- 
fore heard  Nfith  satisfaction  the  statement  of  the  noble  duke, 
that  the  attention  of  the  government  was  directed  to  this  sul)- 
ject,  and  that  every  encouragement  consistent  with  sound  prin- 
ciples would  be  afforded  to  extend  the  su])ply  of  cotton.  ( IJeur, 
hear.)  Tlic  noble  and  learned  lord  had  stated  that  within  a 
short  period  the  importation  of  cotton  had  multijdied  thirty-1  wr^ 
fold  in  this  country,  and  when  their  lordshi]>s  considered  li"W 
extensive  was  the  demand  for  cotton  goods  throughout  the 
world,  they  would  at  once  perceive  that  it  was  a  serious  matter 
to  have  for  the  supply  of  the  raw  material  only  a  single  source, 
liable  to  be  affected  by  the  uncertainties  of  climate,  to  sny 
nothing  of  the  obstacles  which  any  unfortunate  state  of  politi- 


88  Smdhern  Wealth  and  Hoiihern  Profits. 

cal  relations  might  raise  up  in  the  way  of  onr  merchants  apply- 
ing to  that  source.  (Hear,  hear.)  He  trusted  that  no  efforts 
would  be  omitted  by  the  people  of  this  country  to  promote 
every  rational  enterprise  for  the  supply  of  cotton  in  every 
quarter  where  it  could  be  obtained,  and  that  all  the  encourage- 
ment which  the  government  could  legitimately  give  would  be 
afforded.     (Hear,  hear.)" 

The  coolness  with  which  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  states  that 
cotton  could  be  made  by  "  free  labor"  if  the  "  African  chiefs 
would  employ  their  dependent  jpeeyple^'^  instead  of  "  selling  them 
into  slavery,"  is  amusing.  If,  instead  of  selling  the  man,  or 
eating  him,  he  compelled  him  to  grow  cotton,  the  bishop,  it 
appears,  would  be  satisfied  with  the  progress  of  freedom.  The 
discussion  was  narrowed  dowm  to  hopes  that  Africa  might 
grow  cotton.  If  we  reflect  that  the  supply  of  other  materials 
for  clothing  increases  much  less  than  cotton,  the  importance 
of  the  question  will  appear  to  be  gi'eater. 

The  five  chief  materials  for  human  clothing  are  hemp,  flax, 
silk,  wool,  and  cotton.  Tliese  have  been  imported  into  Eng- 
land as  follows : 

Imports  of  Raw  Materials  for  Textile  Fabrics  into  Great  Britain. 

Total 

Jlemp.                Flax.  Silk.  Wool.  four  articles.            Cotiim. 

i835.^fe.  72,352,200  81,916,100  4,027,649  4i,7i8,5i4  160,014,468        826,407,692 

1840...    82,971,700  189,801,600  3,860,980  50,002.976  276,187,236        531,197,817 

1845...  io3, 416,400  i59,562,3oo  4,866,528  76,818,855  344,258,785        731,979.953 

i85o...  119,462,100  204,928,900  5,411,984  74.826,778  404,187,912        714,502.600 

i855...  186,270,912  145,511,487  7,548,659  99,800.446  888,681,454       891,751,962 

i856...  142,618,525  189,792,112  8,28fe;685  116,211,892  456,868,714  1,028,886,804 

1857...  169,004,562  209,953,125  12,718,867  129,749,898  521,426,452        969,318,896 

i858...  184,816,000  144,489,332  6,635,845  127,216,978  462,6o8,i5o  1,076,519,800 

Price  of  Upland  Cotton  in  Liverpool.— \\\  i835,  loVid.;  1840,  6d.;  i845,  4'Ad-;  i85o, 
4V4d.;  i855,  SVid.;  i856,  6d.;  1857,  7V4CI.;  i858,  7V4CI. 

This  table  gives  in  pounds  weight  the  quantities  of  raw  ma- 
terial imported  into  Great  Britain  from  all  coimtries  in  each 
yiear.  It  does  not  include  the  avooI  used  of  home  growth,  or 
the  increasing  supply  of  Irish  flax,  but  it  indicates  the  demand 
that  England  has  annually  made  upon  the  countries  that  pro- 
duce raw  materials  for  the  means  of  supplying  the  large  de- 
mands made  upon  her  factories  for  goods.  The  stimulus  every- 
where given  to  the  production  of  exchangeable  values,  and  the 
diminished  cost  of  transportation,  as  well  as  the  more  liberal 
policy  of  governments,  has  left  to  the  producer  a  larger  share 
of  the  products  of  his  own  industry,  and  this  has  shown  itself 
in  a  demand  for  clothing.     It  is  to  be  observed  in  the  table, 


Sout/iern  Wealth  and  Xoii/u:m  Profits.  39 

that  lip  to  1S50  tlie  ])roportion  of  the  tour  other  articles  in- 
creased faster  than  cotton. 

Since  that  date  the  cotton  demand  has  again  become  larger, 
and  the  value  of  all  raw  materials  has  risen  in  an  important 
degree.  The  future  increase  of  supply  in  human  clothing  must 
come  altogether  from  cotton,  and  every  effort  to  increase  the 
supply  of  that  article  ends  only  in  a  despairing  appeal  to  the 
United  States.  Tlie  discussion  of  the  cpiestion  draws  that  fact, 
and  practical  English  sense  shows  itself  strongly  in  the  follow- 
ing rebuke,  contained  in  the  London  Times,  to  Lord  Brougham 
and  his  confreres  : 

"The  importation  of  cotton  into  this  country  has,  since  the 
import  duty  was  abolished,  increased  sixteen-fold.  1  Living  f- 
been  63,000,000  pounds,  it  is  now  1,000,000,000  pounds.  This  is 
one  of  those  giant  facts  which  stand  head  and  shoulders  higher 
than  the  crowd — so  high  and  so  broad  that  we  can  neither 
overlook  it  nor  aifect  not  to  see  it.  It  proves  the  existence  of 
a  thousand  smaller  facts  that  must  stand  under  its  shadow.  It 
tells  of  sixteen  times  as  many  mills,  sixteen  times  as  many 
English  families  living  by  working  those  mills,  sixteen  times 
as  much  profit  derived  from  sixteen  times  as  much  capital  en- 
gaged in  this  manufacture.  It  carries  after  it  serpiences  of  in- 
creased quantity  of  freights  and  insurances,  and  necessities  for 
sixteen  times  the  amount  of  customers  to  consume,  to  our  profit, 
the  immense  amount  of  produce  we  are  turning  out.  There  are 
not  many  such  facts  as  these,  arising  in  the  quiet  routine  of  in- 
dustrial history.  It  is  so  large  and  so  steady  that  we  can  steer 
our  national  policy  by  it;  it  is  so  important  to  us,  that  we 
should  be  reduced  to  embarrassment  if  it  were  suddenly  to  dis- 
appear. It  teaches  us  to  persevere  in  a  policy  which  has  pro- 
duced so  wonderful  a  result ;  its  beneficent  operation  makes  it 
essential  to  us  to  deal  carefully  with  it  now  we  have  got  it. 
Some  years  ago  an  island  arose  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  we 
were  all  discussing  it,  and  quarrelling  about  it,  and  keei)ing 
up  a  brisk  fire  of  diplomatic  notes  over  it,  when  one  fine  morn- 
ing the  disgusted  island  suddenly  went  down  again,  and  ships 
sent  out  to  survey  it  sailed  over  the  site  it  had  occui)ied.  Wo 
must  not  do  any  thing  to  disgust  this  huge  lump  of  proiitable 
W(»rk  which  has  suddenly  arisen  among  us.  We  are  inclined  to 
look  at  it  with  a  respectful  and  superstitious  tenderness,  rather 
as  a  gambler  does  upon  a  run  of  luck  at  cards,  hoping  it  may 
last  forever. 


40  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

"  Lord  Brougham  and  the  veterans  of  the  old  Anti-Slavery 
Society  do  not,  we  fear,  share  our  delight  at  this  great  increase 
in  the  employment  of  our  home  population.  Their  minds  are 
still  seared  by  those  horrible  stories  which  were  burnt  in  upon 
them  in  their  youth  when  England  was  not  only  a  slave-own- 
ing, but  even  a  slave- trading  state.  Their  remorse  is  so  great, 
tliat  the  ghost  of  a  black  man  is  always  before  them.  They  are 
benevolent  and  excellent  people ;  but  if  a  black  man  happened 
to  have  broken  his  shin,  and  a  white  man  were  in  danger  of 
drowning,  we  much  fear  that  a  real  anti-slavery  zealot  would 
bind  up  the  black  man's  leg  before  he  would  draw  the  Avhite 
man  out  of  the  water.  It  is  not  an  inconsistency,  therefore, 
that  while  we  see  only  cause  of  congratulation  in  this  wonder- 
ful increase  of  trade,  Lord  Brougham  sees  in  it  the  exao^crera- 
tion  of  an  evil  he  never  ceases  to  deplore.  We,  and  such  as 
we,  who  are  content  to  look  upon  society  as  Providence  allows 
it  to  exist — to  mend  it  when  we  can,  but  not  to  distress  our- 
selves immoderately  for  evils  which  are  not  of  our  creation — 
we  see  only  the  free  and  intelligent  English  families  who  thrive 
upon  the  wages  which  these  cotton  bales  produce.  Lord 
Brougham  sees  only  the  black  laborers  who,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  pick  the  cotton  pods  in  slavery.  Lord 
Brougham  deplores  that  in  this  tremendous  importation  of  a 
thousand  millions  of  pounds  of  cotton  the  lion's  share  of  the 
profit  goes  to  the  United  States,  and  has  been  produced  by 
slave-labor.  Instead  of  twenty- three  millions,  the  United  States 
now  send  us  eight  hundred  and  thirty  millions,  and  this  is  all 
cultivated  by  slaves.  It  is  very  sad  that  this  should  be  so,  but 
we  do  not  see  our  way  to  a  remedy.  There  seems  to  be  rather 
a  chance  of  its  becoming  worse.  If  France,  who  is  already 
moving  onwards  in  a  restless,  purblind  state,  should  open  her 
eyes  wide,  should  give  herself  fair  play  by  accepting  our  coals, 
ii-on,  and  machinery,  and,  under  the  stimulus  of  a  Avholesome 
competition,  should  take  to  manufacturing  upon  a  large  scale, 
then  these  three  millions  will  not  be  enough.  France  will  be 
competing  with  us  in  the  foreign  cotton  markets,  stimulating 
still  further  the  produce  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina.  The 
jump  which  the  consumj)tion  of  cotton  in  England  has  just 
made  is  but  a  single  leap,  which  may  be  repeated  indefinitely. 
There  are  a  thousand  millions  of  mankind  upon  the  globe,  all 
of  whom  can  be  most  comfortably  clad  in  cotton.  Every  year 
new  tribes  and  new  nations  are  added  to  the  category  of  cotton 


Soufhei-^n  Wealth  and  Northern  I^rojit.s:  4 1 

■wearers.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  sujiplv  of 
this  universal  necessity  will  for  many  years  yet  to  come  fail  to 
keep  pace  with  the  demand,  and,  in  the  interest  of  that  lar^e 
class  of  our  countrymen  to  whom  cotton  is  bread,  we  must  con- 
tinue to  hope  that  tlie  United  States  will  be  able  to  supply  us 
in  years  to  come  with  twice  as  much  as  we  boui^ht  of  them  in 
years  past. 

'•  ^  Let  us  raise  up  another  market,'  says  the  anti-slavery 
people.  So  say  we  all.  We  know  very  well  that  the  possi- 
bility of  growing  cotton  is  not  confined  to  the  New  Woi-ld. 
The  plains  of  Bengal  grew  cotton  before  Columbus  was  l)orn, 
and  we,  with  our  mechanical  advantages,  can  actually  atford 
to  take  the  Bengal  cotton  from  the  growers  and  send  it  back 
to  them  in  yarns  and  pieces  cheaper  than  they  can  make  it  up. 
So,  also,  thousands  of  square  miles  in  China  are  covered  by  the 
cotton  plant;  and  some  day  we  may  perhaps  repeat  the  same 
process  there.  Africa,  too,  promises  us  cotton.  Dr.  Living- 
stone found  a  country  in  which  the  growth  was  indigenous,  and 
where  the  chiefs  were  very  anxious  to  be  taught  how  to  culti- 
vate it  for  a  European  market.  Tliere  is  no  lack  of  lands  and 
climate  where  cotton  could  be  produced.  It  is  said  of  gold  that 
no  substance  in  nature  is  more  widely  diffused  and  more  om- 
nipresent 5  but,  unfortunately,  it  is  difiused  under  conditions 
which  make  it  seldom  possible  to  win  it  with  a  profit.  So  it  is  ]/\^ 
of  cotton.  The  conditions  under  which  it  becomes  available 
for  our  markets  are  not  often  present  in  the  wild  cotton  which 
our  travellers  discover ;  nor  are  they  to  be  immediately  sup- 
plied. Kemember  the  efforts  which  the  French  have  made  to 
produce  cotton  in  Algeria,  the  enormous  prizes  they  ofiercd, 
the  prices  at  which  they  bought  up  all  the  produce,  the  care 
with  which  fabrics  were  prepared  from  these  cottons  at  lloueu 
and  exhibited  at  the  Paris  Exhibition,  and  then  note  the  miser- 
able result  after  so  many  years  of  artificial  protection.  It  will 
come  eventually ;  as  the  cotton  wants  of  the  world  ])ress 
heavily  and  more  heavily,  it  must  come.  We  shall  have  cotton 
from  India,  from  China,  and  from  Africa;  we  would  advocate 
every  means  within  reasonable  limits  to  quicken  the  develop- 
ment. We  would  not  even  ask  whether  to  introduce  cotton 
culture  upon  a  large  scale  into  Africa,  would  be  to  secure  that 
African  cotton  would  not  be  raised  by  slave-labor.  But  even 
Lord  Brougham  would  not  ask  us  to  believe  that  there  is  any 
proximate  hope  that  the  free  cotton  raised  in  Africa  will,  within 


42  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

any  reasonable  time,  drive  out  of  culture  the  slave-grown  cot- 
ton of  America.  If  this  be  so,  of  what  use  can  it  be  to  make 
irritating  speeches  in  the  House  of  Lords  against  a  state  of 
things  by  which  we  are  content  to  profit  ?  Lord  Brougham 
and  Lord  Grey  are  not  men  of  such  illogical  minds  as  to  be  in- 
capable of  understanding  that  it  is  the  demand  of  the  English 
manufacturers  which  stimulates  the  produce  of  slave-grown 
American  cotton.  They  are  neither  of  them,  we  apprehend,  so 
reckless  or  so  wicked  as  to  wish  to  close  our  factories  and  throAV 
some  two  millions  of  our  manufacturing  population  out  of 
bread.  Why,  then,  these  inconsequent  and  these  irritating 
denunciations  ?  Let  us  create  new  fields  of  produce  if  we  can ; 
but,  meanwhile,  it  is  neither  just  nor  dignified  to  buy  this  raw 
material  from  the  Americans,  and  to  revile  them  for  pro- 
ducing it." 


CHAPTER  HL 

GENERAL    AGKICULTUKE. 

J  The  New  England  States,  from  the  first,  were  mostly  en- 
gaged in  navigation  and  manufactures.  It  was  there  that 
capital  first  accumulated  from  application  to  those  employ- 
ments. Agriculture  spread  in  two  directions,  viz.,  across  the 
mountains  to  the  west,  and  southwest  from  the  south  Atlantic 
States.  These  two  agricultural  branches  divided  naturally  into 
free  and  slave  labor,  and  both  sections  held  the  same  position 
to  ]^ew  England  as  all  the  colonies  had  before  held  to  the 
mother  country.  Tlie  manufacturing  and  navigating  States, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  accumulated  the  wealth  which  the  other 
sections  produced,  eacli  in  proportion  to  its  productions.  To 
estimate  correctly  the  effects  of  slave-labor,  therefore,  it  is  not 
to  be  compared  to  a  manufacturing  section,  but  to  a  free  agri- 
cultural section ;  it  is  in  the  same  employment  that  the  rela- 
tive results  of  free  and  slave  labor  are  to  be  justly  compared. 
"We  shall  find  that  the  latter  has  largely  the  advantage  over  the 
former — that  the  productions  of  the  individual  free  man  is  not 
greater  than  that  of  the  slave ;  but  his  wants  and  necessities 
are  greater.  He  consumes  more,  while  his  labor  lacks  that 
concentration  of  co-operation  that  marks  slave-labor.  Tliis  re- 
sult is  very  much  opposed  to  the  common  idea,  which  supposes 


Sout/urn  Wealth  and  Xorthern  Profits.  43 

the  South  to  produce  cotttni  only.  Tlic  i^reat  prominence  of 
that  article  in  a  manner  overshadows  other  products,  which 
come  in  a  degree  to  be  overlooked.  Tims  the  following  re- 
marks, and  similar  ones,  are  frequently  encomitered  in  the 
daily  press : 

"  Such  is  the  mutual  dependence  of  the  South  and  the  Xortli, 
that,  were  it  not  that  the  latter  supjdies  to  the  former  its  ]m-(>- 
risions,  clothing,  and  agricultural  implements,  the  South  would 
not  be  able  to  supply  any  cotton  for  export,  but  could  scarcely 
supply  the  home  demand." 

The  fallacy  of  this  idea  may  be  at  once  demonstrated  l)y  an 
inspection  of  the  census  returns,  which  show  a  larger  quantity 
of  food  per  head  produced  in  the  South  than  elsewhere,  and 
■from  its  abundance  it  furnishes  food  to  the  North.  To  tV)rm  a 
just  comparison  between  the  three  sections,  a  table  is  formed 
from  the  national  census  returns  of  1850,  in  which  the  (puuiti- 
ties  produced  in  each  section  are  given  in  separate  columns, 
■with  the  area  and  population  of  each  section.  The  "  North'-  is 
composed  of  N'ew  England^  New  Yorl\  Nev}  Jersey^  Pennstjl- 
vania.  The  "West"  of  Ohio^  Michigan^  Illinois^  Indiana^ 
Wisconsin,  loica,  California,  Minnesota,  and  the  Territories. 
Tlie  "'  South,"  of  Maryland,  Delaware,  District  of  Coliimhia, 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alahama, 
Louisiana,  Florida,  Texas,  Missouri,  Mississijjjn,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  and  ArkoMsas,  making,  together,  all  the  States  and 
Territories.  To  the  quantities,  transcribed  from  the  national 
census,  in  aggregates  for  each  section,  we  have  appended  the 
values,  as  given  by  Professor  Tucker  in  his  "  Progress  of  the 
Nation,"  as  exhibited  in  the  national  census,  from  1790  to  1850. 
Tlie  value  is  useful  in  arriving  at  the  aggregate  relative  value  i>ro- 
duced,  but  the  quantity  of  food  per  head  is  an  imi)ortant  i)oint. 

Area,  Pojyulation,  and  Livestock  of  the  Union. 

South.  Wkmt.  .NOutii. 

Area— Acres 871, /,53  1,417,991  '^,747 

Population 9,664,656  4,900,369  8,626,85a 

Horses 2,044,377  i,2ao,7o3  i,073,63o 

Asses  and  mules 517,224  34,454  7,653 

Milch  cows 2,9^>3,237  1,363,253  2,o5H,6o4 

Oxen 2,«35.358  341,883  .;.);. a8o 

Othercattle 5,632,717  2,236.o56  i.''!i.397 

Sheep 6,821,871  7,396,331  7.)o').oi8 

Swine 20,008,964  6,874,70  3, '168,469 

Total  licad  of  stock 40,823,748  19,967,176  i6,44i,958 

Valneofstoek $251, 793,330  $ii2,563,85i  1173,812,690 


44  Southetm  Wealth  and  Nortliern  Pr 


Agricultural  Productions  of  the  United  States.,  per  official  Census  o/1850, 
distinguishing  the  South,  North,  and  West. 


Wheat..  SiwA. 

Oats .^ 

Corn 

I'otatoes 

Kye 

Barley 

Buckwheat . . 

Quantities.          Value. 

27,878,815     25,090,933 

49,882.979     17,459,035 

349,057,501   ?i9,534,5oo 

44,878,403     17,951,371 

1,608,200       1,608,200 

161,907          145,716 

405,357          202,678 

^                WE.ST.                -. 

Quantities.           Value. 

41,394,545     37.255,088 

37.122,774     12,992,971 

186,384,139  111,830,483 

14,416,390       5,766,556 

774,5d5         774,555 

842,402          754,161 

1,578,578         789,289 

. North. ^ 

Qvar^titie.s.           Value. 
30,761,941      27,685,746 
59,477,597     20,817,175 
56,234,511     33,740,706 
44.616.780     17,846,712 
11,800,068     11,800,068 
4,166,611       3.747,65o 
b,c)ji,bbi      3,485,833 

Beans     and  | 
peas.           ) 

7,637,227 

i3, 365,147 

313,278 

548,237 

1,229,017 

2,i5o,778 

Clover,  &c.,  { 
«eed.          ) 

123,517 

370,551 

142,764 

428,292 

619,501 

i,858,5o3 

Flaxseed  .... 

Value  garden 

"     orchard 

Rice lbs. 

203,484 

254.355 

1,377,260 
1,355,827 
8,612,539 

307,328,112 

240,2IQ 

664,3o3 
1,640,028 

300,273 

664.3o3 

1,640,028 

118,704 

148,374 
3,o5o,3o2 
5.692,886 

2i"5,3V3',497 

173,744,236 

132,024,727 

Tobacco..  ZA«. 
Wool 

85,023,906 
12,797,829 

18.505,390 
3,839,348 

12,358,879 
17,675,129 

1,236,888 
5,302,538 

2,383,208 
21,972,082 

238,320 
6,591,624 

Oieese ) 

68,634,224 

6,863,422 

98,266,884 

9,826,688 

251,593,899 

25.109,389 

Hay tons. 

Hops lbs. 

Heiiip...fc?!s. 

Fla.x lbs. 

Cocoons 

Maple  sugar. 

1,137,784 
33.780 
34,673 

4,768,198 
5,374 

2,088,687 

11,377,846 

5,067 

3,883,376 

476,619 

53,740 

104,434 

3,227.253 

194,961 

i5o 

1,330,859 

2,340 

10,889,722 

32,272,530 

29,244 

7 

i33,o85 

23,400 

544,486 

9,473,605 

3, 268.215 

443.370 

1,717.419 

3,129 

21,272,077 

94,736,o5o 

490,232 

22.178 

171,742 

31,290 

i,o6i,6o3 

Honey   and  1 
wax.           j 

7,964,760 

1,194,714 

3,401,078 

5io,i4o 

3,487.290 

523,093 

Value  slaughtered  1 
animals.                f 

|46,3o3,95o 
54,398,015 

549,879,006 
22,473,786 

e 

129,025,521 
34.5i6,45i 

$4o8,o3o,077 

$246,097,028 

$295,566,699 

Per  head  of  iiopulation. . . 

...    $42 

$5o.25 

$34.26 

From  this  table  we  learn  that  of  those  grains' which  consti- 
tute food,  and  are  common  to  all  sections,  the  South  raised  in 
value  equal  to  about  $30  per  head  of  its  whole  population,  in- 
cluding the  slaves.  Tlie  value  raised  in  the  northern  section 
was  equal  only  to  $15  per  head,  a  quantity  unequal  to  the 
support  of  life,  but  the  large  manufacturing  interests  of  that 
section  enable  it  to  command  food  from  the  West  and  South 
in  exchange  for  merchandise.  The  product  of  food  at  the  West 
is  equal  to  $35^  per  head.  If  we  were  to  include  the  whites 
only,  the  quantity  per  head  at  the  South  would  reach  $48  per 
head,  a  quantity  in  excess  of  their  wants,  and  of  which  they 
indeed  export  largely.  The  quantity  of  corn  alone  raised  per 
head  is  37  bushels,  or  the  same  as  at  the  West.  The  wheat 
product  at  the  South  gives  4|-  bushels  per  head  of  the  white 
population,  a  quantity  more  than  sufficient  for  its  service,  and 


Sout/iern  Wealth  caid  Xortherii  I'rojiis.  45 

it  exports  of  the  surplus  largely  to  the  New  EugluiKl  States. 
Tlie  aggregate  of  agricultural  productions,  it  ai)pears,  is  $42 
at  the  South,  embracing  the  same  articles  which  at  the  AVest 
give  $50.25  per  head,  and  at  the  North  $34.2G  per  head. 
Tlie  South,  however,  produced  in  addition,  in  the  year  1849, 
978,311,690  lbs.  of  cotton,  which  was  sold  in  1850  at  11  cents 
per  lb.,  according  to  the  United  States  Treasury  reports,  mak- 
ing 8101,834,616.  It  also  produced  237,133,000  lbs.  of  sugnr, 
valued  at  $16,599,310;  and,  in  addition,  naval  stores  to  the 
value  of  82,107,100. 

The  aggregate  results  are  as  follows  : 

SotTii.  West.,  North.  Total. 

Slaughtered  animals....  §54,398,013  $22,473,786  $34,5i6,45i  $111, 383,252 

Grains 307,328,112  173,744,236  132,026,727  613,099,075 

Other 46,3o3,g5o  49,879,006  i2g,025,52i  225,208,477 

Cotton,  978,31 1,600  ^J.*...  101,834,616          

Sugar,    237,133,000   "  ..  i6, 599,310 

Kaval  stores 2,107,100 


Total $528,571,103       $246,097,028       $295,568,699    $1,070,236,830 

Per  head $54  $5o  $34 

Value  of  live  stock $253,795,33o       $ii2,563,85i       $173,812,690       $538,171,871 

If  now — supposing  that  the  black  laborers  raise  the  cotton, 
sugar,  rice,  and  naval  stores — we  compare  the  aggregate  agri- 
cultural products  in  the  above  table  with  the  number  of  Mhite 
persons  employed  in  agriculture,  according  to  the  same  census, 
we  have  the  relative  production  as  follows  : 


North 

South 

A'b.  employed 
in  agriculture. 

823,171 

840,285 

Value  produced. 

$295,568,699 

409030,07-7 

246,097,028 

?q5o,695,8o4 

P«y  hand. 

$359 

481 

West 

Total 

728,127 

2,400,583 

335 

This  gives  the  absolute  fact  that  the  AVest,  a  peculiarly  agri 
cultural  section,  with  very  prolific  soil,  produces  a  value  per  ^ 
hand  employed,  less  than  even  the  comparatively  sterile  soil  of 
the  North  and  East.  Tliis  strongly  illustrates  the  fact  to  which 
we  have  previously  alluded,  viz.,  that  free-labor,  even  with 
the  fruitful  soil  of  the  West,  unaided  by  machinery,  can  pro- 
duce no  surplus.  These  iigures  unexi)hiined,  however,  em- 
brace a  fallacy,  and  one  which  has  attracted  much  attention 
of  late.  It  is,  that  the  Northern  and  Eastern  section  has  in- 
scluded  in  its  aggregate  $94,736,000  worth  of  hay,  which  article, 
if  deducted  from  all  the  accounts,  would  leave  tlie  Eastern  ])ro- 
duction  less  per  hand  than  any  other  section.    This  crop  uf  iiay 


^ 


46  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

has,  liowever,  been  vaunted  as  a  crop  of  great  value,  even  as 
"  rivalling  cotton"  in  magnitude,  and  offsetting  that  crop  in  its 
Importance  as  a  national  product.  Tliis  view  of  the  subject  is 
more  specious  than  real,  liowever.  Tlie  object  of  making  hay 
is  to  cure  the  grass  so  that  it  can  be  transported  to  cover,  and 
feed  cattle  through  those  rigorous  Northern  winters,  which 
prevent  the  cattle  from  seeking  their  own  food  in  its  natural 
state.  Where  those  winters  do  not  exist,  that  necessity  does 
not  arise,  but  the  cattle  have  not  the  less  food.  The  making 
of  hay  is,  then,  not  a  valuable  labor,  but  an  expense  in  the 
keeping  of  cattle,  imposed  by  climate.  Accordingly  we  find, 
as  we  proceed  South,  the  winters  being  shorter,  less  hay  is 
made  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  cattle  kept.  In  Maine, 
755,889  tons  of  hay  were  made,  and  there  were  385,115  head 
of  cattle  and  horses  to  feed.  This  is  a  ratio  of  nearly  two  tons 
per  head.  In  Illinois,  601,952  tons  of  hay  were-  made,  but 
1,190,264:  head  of  cattle  were  kept,  or  rather  more  than  half  a 
ton  per  head.  In  Alabama,  32,685  tons  of  hay  were  made, 
and  915,911  head  of  cattle  kept,  or  about  one  ton  to  30  head 
of  cattle.  In  the  aggregate,  the  hay-crop  of  the  country,  and 
the  number  of  cattle  kept,  was  as  follows  : 

No.ofcatUe.  Tons  hay  c%it.  lbs.  per  head. 

North 5,460,820                 9,473,605  ,3,460 

West 5,161,895                 3,227,253  1,260 

South. 13,475,689                  1,137,784  170 

Total 24,098,404  13.838,642 

Tliis  crop  of  hay,  therefore,  is  a  tax  upon  the  labor  of  the 
Northern  farmer,  proportioned  to  the  number  of  cattle  he  seeks 
to  winter,  and  the  rigor  of  the  winter  he  has  to  provide  for. 
To  count  this  expense  among  the  advantages  of  free-labor,  is 
certainly  a  very  fallacious  mode  of  convincing  the  laborer  of 
its  blessings,  and  would  leave  the  inference  that  free-labor  in, 
Maine  is  much  more  profitable  than  in  other  free  States.  The 
advantages  of  the  Southern  climate  are,  that  not  only  is  natu- 
ral fodder  more  abundant,  enabling  the  same  land  to  support 
more  cattle,  but  the  labor  which  at  the  Korth  is  applied  to 
making  that  fodder  available,  is  at  the  South  applied  to  other 
productions.  The  labor  which  at  the  North  will  give  100  mil- 
lions of  hay,  will  at  the  South,  not  being  needed  for  that  pur- 
pose, give  100  millions  of  cotton,  while  the  cattle  are  feeding 
themselves.  It  is  for  this,  among  other  reasons,  that  the  ag- 
gregate productions  of  the  South  are  so  much  more  per  hand 


Southern  Wealth  and  Xorthern  Projits.  47 

tliau  ut  the  North  and  AVest.  Tlic  chief  reason  is,  howi-viT, 
tliat  the  habor  at  the  Sonth  is  collective,  while  the  free-lahor  at 
the  "West  depends  upon  its  own  resources,  and  is  not  able  to 
hire  the  needful  help  in  sowing  and  harvest  seasons.  Improve- 
ments in  machinery  have  been  a  great  help  in  that  respect, 
enabling  the  farmer  to  get  more  into,  and  more  off  the  ground, 
than  his  unassisted  labor  could  effect. 

As  an  example  of  the  productions  of  hands  em[»loyed  in  tlie 
South,  we  take  the  sugar  product  and  number  of  slaves  in  each 
sugar  county  of  Louisiana : 

Louisiana  Production  of  Sugar,  Corn,  and  Rice. 

Corn,  J!ic«. 

?ihds.  Slaves.  bush.  lit. 

Rapides I7,i33  ii,34o 

Avoyelles 6,4 1 3  5,i6i 

West  Felieiaiia 6,471  10,666 

Pointe  Coupee i8,2i3  7. 811 

East  Feliciana 1,370  9,5i4 

West  Baton  Rouge 2i,683  4,35o 

Ea.st  Baton  Rouge 1 2,255  6,35i 

Iberville 38,87()  8,606 

Ascension 28,444  7,266 

St.  James 27,302  7,75i 

St.  John  the  Baptist 11.271  4,54o 

St.  Charles 9,146  4,i32 

Jefferson 3.143  6,196 

Orleans  and  St.  Bernard. ...~ 6,566  20,391 

Plaquemines 12,433  4.779 

Assumption,  Bavou  Lafourche 32,725  5,34 1 

L.ifourchc  Interior 8,866  4,368 

Terrebonne 22,8i5  4.328 

St.  Mary,  Attakapas 44.634  9.85o 

St.  Martin,  Attakapiis i3,548  6,489 

Vermillion,  Lafayette 862  1 ,067 

Lafayette 1,286  3,170 

St.  Landry,  Opelousius 7.388  10,871 

Cistern  bottoms 9,252          


357,480 

4.500 

310,985 

360,385 

291,350 

8,000 

5» 

16,840 
42,670 

226,942 

fyOO 

i5i,75o 

4,009 

371,065 

368,500 

35,5oo 

334.480 

68,5oo 

188,390 
178.0S0 
197,849 
32,180 

314.200 

619,000 

122,000 

40.000 

149,090 

1,536.740 

564,303 

99.770 

227,Ol5 

187,420 
305,290 

466,900 

140 

517,401 

3,700 

46.061 

\.(M 

288,358 

a,i68 

372,180 

6,144 

Total 362,296        162,018        6,327,88a        4,911,680 

Value  of  supar 924,998,424 

Value  of  molasses 6,470.817 


Total $31,399,241 

Tlie  result  is  $200,  in  average  value  of  sugar,  for  each  hand. 
In  some  sections  the  product  is  immense.  In  St.  Mary,  the 
sugar  was  worth  $3,000,000,  without  counting  molasses,  or 
over  $300  to  each  hand,  llie  labor  of  the  slave  in  this  em- 
ployment is  greatly  aided  b}-  machinery.  Tlie  nund)er  of 
slaves  is  the  total  fcvr  the  counties,  which,  however,  ])rodnce  a 
great  agricultural  wealth  in  addition  to  their  sugar.  Tlius 
their  slaves  j)roduce  40  bushels  com  per  head,  and  30  ll)s.  rico 
per  head.     Tlie  cash  value  (»f  these  two  cro]>s  was  $5,000,000. 

It  follows,  from  these  facts,  that  the  South  lias  a  far  larger 


48 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


surplus  to  export  than  any  otlier  section,  and  that  the  value 
of  that  surplus  per  hand  annually  increases.  It  supplies  the 
wants  of  the  ISTorth  in  naval  stores,  rice,  tobacco,  sugar,  hides, 
wool,  cotton,  and  annually  swells  the  aggregate  exports  of  the 
Union  to  foreign  countries.  The  surplus  which  has  thus  poured 
out  of  the  country  manifests  itself  in  the  following  table,  which 
is  compiled  from  the  annual  reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury : 

Southern  UxjJorts  from  the  United  States,  Numher  of  Slaves,  and  Value 
per  Hand. 


1800.. 
1810.. 
1820.. 
i83o.. 
1840.. 
i85o.. 
i85i.. 
1859.. 


Naval 
Stores. 


460,000  2,435,000  6,220,000 
47.3,000  2,626,000  5,048,000 
292,000:1,714.9231  8,118,188 


Sugar, 


i,5oo,ooo 
3,000,000 
5,200,000 


321,01911,986,824!  8,833, 

602,520!  1,942,0761  9,883,957 
1, 1 42^7 1 3  2, 63 1, 557  9,95i,023  i4,7p6,i5o 
11,063,842  2,170,927!  9,219,351  i5,3a5,i85 
'3,695,474  2,207,148  2i,o74,o38  31,455,241 
III 


slaves. 


Prod. 

per 
hand. 


5,25o,ooo  14,385,000  893,041  16.  i_ 
i5, 108,000  23,255,000  i,i9i,364Ji9.5o 
26,309,000  37,934,111  i,543,688|24.63 
44,058,025  48,225,838  2,009,053' 29. 11 
74,640,307  92,292,260  2,487,355137.11 
101,834,616  i3o,5o6,o5o' 3, 179, 509143.51 
1 37,3 1 5, 3 1 7,1 65, o34,5 17  3, 200,000!  51.90 
204, 1 28,493  262, 560,394 '4, 000, 000  65 . 64 
I  i  I 


These  figures  for  naval  stores,  tobacco,  and  rice,  are  the  offi- 
cial export  values.  The  figures  for  cotton  are  the  crop  valued 
at  the  export  rate  in  official  returns.  Those  for  sugar  and 
molasses  are  those  of  the  New  Orleans  prices  current.  As  all 
these  products  are  the  results  of  slave-labor,  in  addition  to  what 
supplies  food  for  consumption,  they  are  very  nearly  the  ex- 
changeable values  produced  per  hand,  and  the  increase  has  been 
in  regular  progression.  The  exportable  value  per  hand  that 
was  $16.10  in  1800,  has  risen  to  $65.6i  in  1859,  and  was  $43.51 
per  hand  in  1850,  the  date  of  the  census,  when,  as  seen  in  the 
above  table,  the  food  production  in  that  section  equalled  th.at 
of  the  West,  which  had  no  other  production.  This  large  value, 
amounting  to  $262,560,374,  is  remitted  to  the  North,  either  in 
the  shape  of  sterling  bills  drawn  against  that  portion  sent  di- 
rectly in  Northern  ships  to  Europe,  or  in  produce  sent  to  the 
North.  The  value  of  the  raw  cotton  taken  by  Northern  spin- 
ners in  1859,  was  760,000  bales,  worth  $40,000,000.  Tliere  are, 
unfortunately,  no  statistics  for  all  the  produce  sent  north  from 
the  South,  but  much  may  be  gathered  from  the  statistics  of  the 
several  cities.  Thus,  Louisiana  sent  north  in  1859,  280,000 
hhds.  sugar,  valued  at  $19,000,000.  The  city  of  Kichmond 
sent  north  $4,000,000  worth  of  tobacco. 


Soufheni  Wraith  and  Korthcrii  Profits.  49 

value  in  lumber,  Scq.  Tlic  Boston  Post  reiiiiirks  in  volution 
to  the  Southern  trade  of  that  city — 

"  "What  does  Xew  Eiigland  huy  of  the  South  to  l<eep  lier 
cotton  and  woollen  mills  in  operation — to  supply  her  lack  t»f 
corn  and  flour,  to  furnish  her  Avith  sui^ar,  rice,  tobacco,  hnnber, 
etc.?  Boston  alone  received  from  the  Slave  States  in  1859,  cot- 
ton valued  at  $22,000,000;  wool  worth  $1,000,000;  hides  val- 
ued at  $1,000,000;  lumber  $1,000,000  ;  flour  $2,500,000;  corn 
$1,200,000 ;  rice  $500,000  ;  tobacco  estimated  at  $2,000,000. 
We  thus  have  $31,200,000  in  value,  only  considering  eight 
articles  of  consumption.  Nor  have  we  reckoned  the  large 
amounts  of  portions  or  all  of  these  articles  which  arrived  at 
Providence,  New  Haven,  Hartford,  Portland,  and  other  places. 
Nor  have  we  reckoned  the  value  of  other  articles  that  arrive  at 
Boston,  very  considerable  though  it  be,  such  as  molasses,  naval 
stores,  beef,  pork,  lard,  and  other  animal  produce,  hemp,  early 
vegetal/les,  oysters  and  other  shell-fish,  game,  peaches,  etc. 
May  we  not  estimate  then,  with  good  reason,  that  New  England 
bu^'s  of  the  South  her  raw  materials  and  other  products  to  the 
amount  of  $50,000,000  annually?  In  1858,  about  one-third  of 
all  the  flour  sold  in  Boston  was  received  from  the  commercial 
4)orts  of  the  Southern  States,  and  in  the  same  year  seven-iifths 
of  all  the  corn  sold  in  this  city  was  received  direct  from  the 
States  of  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  Virginia.  Tlie  value  of  the 
product  of  sugar  and  molasses,  principally  produced  in  Louisiana, 
in  1S5S  was  about  $33,000,000;  and  though  but  a  snuxll  portion 
of  it  came  to  New  England,  nearly  one-luilf  tlie  cro])  is  con- 
sumed in  the  Northern  States,  reaching  the  jxtints  of  consump- 
tion by  the  Mississipj)i  river." 

The  cities  of  Pliiladclphia,  New  York,  Cincinnati,  Pittsburgh, 
and  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississip])i  rivers,  receive  (piantitics  that 
swell  the  figures  to  $200,000,000,  indei)endentiy  of  the  articles 
mentioned  in  the  above  table,  which,  being  added,  makes  an 
aggregate  as  follows  : 

Scut  North  in  bills  and  raw  matcrinlM $362,560,394 

bent  North  in  other  produce 200,000,000 

Total  to  tho  credit  of  the  Soiilli,  per  niiiiiun $462,560,194 

Tliis  is  probably  an  under-valuation  of  the  amount  of  means 

sent  jS'ortli  by  Southern  owners  and  producers.     Tlie  pro<hicc 

and  tlie  bills  drawn  agaiiist  foreign  fehi])ments  form  the  credits 

against  which  the  Southern  banks  draw,  and  these  credits  fonn 

4 


60  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

an  important  item  of  deposits  in  all  the  Xortliern  banks,  bnt 
particularly  in  those  of  New  York  city,  where  the  "  balance 
due  banks  "  swells  from  IT  millions  to  frequently  35  millions 
in  the  summer,  when  the  crops  are  mostly  realized.  The  vast 
movement  of  produce  also  gives  premiums  to  the  NortlK;rn 
Insurance  Companies,  whose  swelling  dividends  and  premium- 
shares  have  been  so  tempting  of  late.  If  the  South  produces' 
this  vast  wealth,  she  does  little  of  her  own  transportation,  bank- 
ing, insuring,  brokering,  but  pays  liberally  on  those  accounts 
to  the  Northern  capital  employed  in  those  occupations.  Those 
who  visit  the  North  in  the  summer  months,  crowd  the  hotels 
and  watering-places,  and  scatter  the  proceeds  of  Southern  labor 
broadcast  among  shopkeepers  and  trades-people  in  return  for 
manufactured  articles. 

In  the  last  few  years  of  speculative  excitement  at  the  West, 
whence  such  floods  of  bonds  have  been  sent  to  New  York  for 
negotiation,  the  presence  of  the  proceeds  of  Southern  crops 
lying  in  the  New  York  banks,  and  by  them  used  to  sustain  the 
stock-market,  has  been  a  great  aid  in  the  negotiation  of  those 
Western  credits,  which  were  applied  to  the  construction  of  rail- 
roads. That  large  expenditure  reilected  upon  the  Western  trade, 
j)roducing  an  unusual  demand  for  goods,  which  disappeared 
ywhen  the  railroad  expenditures  ceased.  A  very  considerable 
/portion  of  the  capital  created  at  the  South  was  applied  to  the 
consumption  of  Western  produce,  since  the  thousands  of  men 
who  were  employed  in  building  railroads  at  the  West  caused  a 
large  local  demand  for  that  produce  on  one  hand,  while  tlie}^  in- 
creased the  demand  for  goods  on  the  other.  There  has  doubtless 
been  a  large  amount  expended  for  railroad  construction  at  the 
South,  but  this  has  not  been  speculative.  We  shall  in  a  future 
chapter  see  that  although  there  are  as  many  miles  of  railroad 
in  operation  at  the  South  as  at  the  West,  they  have  cost  hardly 
more  than  half  the  money  per  mile,  and  their  influence  in  de- 
veloping local  resources  has  been  immense.  We  shall  see  that 
more  than  20  per  cent,  of  Western  railroad  obligations  is  dis- 
lionored,  while  none  of  the  Southern  roads  have  failed  to  j)ay. 
The  reason  is,  the  superior  cheapness  of  the  latter.  It  is  also  a 
peculiar  feature  of  the  Southern  roads,  that  their  stocks  and 
liabilities  are  nearly  all  owned  at  home.  The  dividends  and 
interest  do  not  therefore  form  a  drain  upon  Southern  resources, 
while  at  the  West  that  drain  has  reached  a  very  serious  extent, 
vy^  and  must  lead  to  the  breaking  up  of  numerous  companies. 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Projits.  51 

The  employment  of  such  numhers  of  men  at  tlie  Soutli  as  \ 
are  requisite  to  work  9058  miles  of  railroad,  is,  of  itself,  an  im- 
portant item  of  expenditure,  and  aftbrds  a  local  market  for  pro- 
duce not  previously  enjoyed,  while  they  have  a  great  influence  | 
in  swelling  the  surplus  delivered  at  the  seaboard  for  ex2K)rta- 
tion.  The  extension  of  manufactures  also  at  the  South  imparts 
an  increasing  demand  for  local  produce.  The  census  gave 
103,904  persons  engaged  in  manufacturing  at  the  South,  and 
the  progress  of  that  industry  is,  as  we  shall  sec  in  a  succeeding 
chapter,  rapid.  These  are  causes  which  would  naturally  tend 
to  diminish  the  quantity  of  produce  the  Soutli  would  have  to 
send  ISTortli,  unless  the  production  was  proportionately  increased. 
This  appears  to  be  the  case,  and  the  supplies  that  go  forward 
by  steamboat  are  continually  increasing.  An  interesting  branch 
of  this  subject  is  the  quantities  of  farm  produce  received  early 
and  late  in  the  year,  in  the  Nortliern  markets,  by  steamboats 
from  the  Soutli.  New  York,  particularly,  owes  nearly  all  its 
supplies  of  early  and  late  vegetables  and  fruits  to  the  Southern 
slave  productions  received  by  steam.  Tlie  tables  of  the  rich, 
and  those  ample  boards  spread  by  the  hotels,  famed  through- 
out the.  world  for  the  profusion  and  variety  of  their  bills  of 
fare,  are  indebted  to  the  farm  labor  of  the  South  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  those  luxuries ;  and  these  items  amount  to  many  mil- 
lions per  annum.  It  is  a  little  curious  that  while  New  York 
draws  so  largely  upon  the  slave-labor  of  the  South  for  the  sup- 
ply of  the  table,  it  also  furnishes  the  same  articles,  to  some  ex- 
tent, to  free  negro  Jamaica,  in  exchange  for  the  spontaneous 
products  of  that  fertile  island  ;  and  Northern  vessels  do  the  car- 
rying trade  at  a  proflt.  Tlie  South  has,  nevertheless,  prospered 
in  the  trade,  and  has  taken  in  exchange  a  large  quantity  of 
hats,  shoes,  clothing,  <fcc.,  that  arc  manufjictured  by  the  arti- 
sans in  New  York,  and  who  would  severely  feel  the  want  of 
>nch  a  demand  should  it  by  any  untoward  event  be  cut  off.  In 
the  nature  of  things,  manufacturing  must  grow  rapidly  at  the 
South,  for  the  reason  that  the  mere  expense  of  transi)ortation'» 
will,  of  itself,  be  an  inducement,  when  the  capital  shall  have 
been  acquired,  to  prosecute  these  undertakings.  The  unfortu- 
nate difficulties  that  have  recently  sprung  up  have  given  a 
great  spur  to  the  attempts  of  manufacturers  at  the  South. 

The  progress  of  these,  with  the  oi)eration  of  the  raih-oads  in  | 
employing  thousands  of  hands,  is  the  first  step  towards  accu- 
mulating capital  at  the  South,  where  so  much  is  produced. 


52  Sonthern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

JIANUFACTHRES. 

The  Nortlieni  or  ]^ew  England  States  are  endowed  by  na- 
ture with  a  mountainous  and  sterile  soil,  which  but  poorly  re- 
wards the  labor  of  the  husbandman.  However,  its  wooded 
slopes,  and  tumbling  streams,  which  fall  into  commodious  har- 
bors, early  pointed  out  to  the  restless  energy  of  the  first  settlers 
the  direction  in  which  their  industry  was  to  be  employed. 
Ship-building  and  navigation  at  once  became  the  leading  in- 
dustry, bringing  with  it  more  or  less  wealth.  The  harsh  rule 
of  the  mother  country  forbade  a  manufacturing  development, 
and  that  branch  of  industry  had  never  got  a  footing  in  the  col- 
onies. The  act  of  independence  which  opened  up  that  Held  of 
employment,  also  provided,  by  freedom  of  intercourse,  a  large 
market  for  the  sale  of  manufactures  to  the  agricultural  labor- 
ers of  the  more  fertile  fields  of  the  Middle  and  Southern  States. 
The  genius  of  Northern  industry  was  not  slow  in  applying  the 
capital  earned  in  commerce  to  the  prosecution  of  this  branch  of 
labor,  and  with  every  increase  in  numbers,  and  every  extension 
of  national  territory,  the  New  England  States  have  had  only  a 
larger  market  for  their  wares,  while  the  foreign  competing 
supply  has  been  restricted  by  high  duties  on  imports.  The 
mountain  torrents  of  New  England  have  become  motors,  by 
which  annually  improving  machinery  has  been  driven.  These 
machines  require  only  the  attendance  of  females,  but  a  few 
years  since  a  non-producing  class,  to  turn  out  immense  quanti- 
ties of  textile  fabrics.  In  the  hands  of  the  male  population, 
other  branches  of  industry  have  multiplied,  in  a  manner  which 
shows  the  stimulant  of  an  ever-increasing  effective  demand. 

At  aboHt  the  time  that  New  Englaad  became  free  to  manu- 
facture, the  discoveries  in  navigation  wrought  that  singular 
change  in  commerce  by  which  Charleston,  S.  C,  was  no  longer 
regarded  as  the  nearest  port  to  Europe,  and  New  York  assumed 
its  proper  position,  as  the  central  marine  point.  Tlie  commerce 
of  the  Middle  States  rapidly  increased,  and  witli  that  increase  a 
larger  demand  for  the  manufactures  of  New  England  was  cre- 
ated. "When  population  spread  west  of  the  AUeghanies,  and  the 
annexation  of  Louisiana  opened  the  Mississippi  river  to  a  mar- 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Pi'ojlts.  53 

ket  for  AVestcrn  produce,  thus  putting  an  end  to  that  Western 
discontent,  wliich  liad  made  separation  from  the  East,  and  con- 
solidation with  the  hnvcr  countries  of  the  Mississippi  for  tlie 
sake  of  an  outlet,  imminent,  a  new  demand  for  New  England 
manufactures  was  felt,  and  this  was  further  enhanced  hy  the 
opening  of  the  Eric  canal.  In  later  years,  the  vast  foreign  im- 
migration, pouring  over  new  lands  opened  up  by  railroads,  has 
given  a  further  stimulus  to  consumpti(»n ;  more,  however, 
through  the  enormous  sums  of  money  sent  in  that  direction  to 
build  railroads,  than  by  any  legitimate  development  of  West- 
ern wealth.  The  South,  in  the  mean  time,  has  progressed  regu- 
larly and  solidly,  not  by  help  of  borrowed  capital,  but  by 
means  of  the  actual  sale  of  its  swelling  crops,  at  still  rising 
prices.  It  is  to  be  supposed,  that  although  New  England  was 
the  original  source  of  manufactures,  yet,  with  the  progress  of 
the  national  wealth,  those  manufactures  would  gradually  spread 
towards  the  markets  of  consumption,  and  this  in  proportion  to 
the  wealth  and  enterprise  in  localities. 

The  extraordinary  hallucinations  that  exist  in  relation  to  the 
Southern  population,  and  theself-gloriiication  with  which  North- 
ern writers  dwell  upon  Northern  industry,  are  somewhat  sur- 
prising. Tlius  the  Tribune  of  Feb.  13  bestowed  two  columns 
upon  its  readers  ;  and  the  basis  of  the  homily  were  the  follow- 
ing assertions : 

"We  were  apprised,  by  the  official  returns  of  1850,  that  the 
lands  of  the  South  were  lield  by  a  small  number  of  proprietors, 
and  the  residue  of  the  white  citizens  were  without  property, 
and  therefore  were  in  a  serfdom,  or,  I  might  say,  more  than 
that,  for  the  serfs  in  European  countries  are  at  least  the  culti- 
vators of  the  soil,  and  have  certain  inherent  privileges  attached 
thereto;  in  other  words,  they  are  ^adHcripti  (jkha-' — the  ten- 
ants of  the  soil;  but  the  white  population  of  the  South,  other 
than  the  great  land  proprietors,  have  no  interest  in  the  soil, 
nor  does  it  appear  what  proprietary  interest  they  have  in  any 
sort  of  property.  Manufactories  scarcely  exist  at  the  South; 
mechanical  industry,  distinct  from  agriculture,  has  hardly  any 
existence." 

Tliis  is  the  sort  of  declamation  witli  which,  for  ]»oliti<'al  pur- 
poses, the  Northern  ear  is  dinned.  It  is  probable  that  the 
writer  never  saw  the  census  returns;  but,  like  candidates  for 
the  most  responsible  offices  of  tlie  government,  when  confronted 
with  their  signatures  affixed  to  treasonable  documents,  excuse 
themselves  by  saying  they  "  signed  without  reading,"  because 


54 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


some  "power  beliind  the  throne"  required  them  to  do  so.  We 
find,  on  examining  the  census  for  ourselves,  that  all  such  state- 
ments are  without  foundation  in  truth. 

In  illustration  of  the  progress  of  manufactures  in  the  whole 
Union,  we  take  aggregates  from  ofiicial  returns.  In  March, 
1855,  the  Honorable  James  Guthrie,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
.appointed  Messrs.  R.  C.  Morgan  and  W.  A.  Shannon  to  report 
ti.e  manufactures  of  each  State  from  1790  to  1850.  From  page 
87  of  that  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  June  30, 
1855,  we  extract  the  following  table  of  the  cotton  manufactures 
of  each  section  at  four  periods,  and  the  aggregate  of  all  manu- 
|actures  for  1840. 


1 

1S30. 

'.          "l5l',2b(> 

101,232 
197,925 

274,03  I 
17,222 

4,666 
125,266 
14,000 

.       5;885,6o8 

4,502,224 

243,268 
35,750 
735,512 
154,547 

555,673 
988,157 
49,S82 

$3,991,834 
4,359,553 

5,400 

"$567715 
772,819 

Coi 
1S30. 

Total 

mamifac's. 

1840. 

1S40. 

1S50. 

i7,§47 

382,260 
16,637 
100,000 
538,439 
49.920 
2,i35o44 
273,439 

4.236,000 

Arkansas . 

1,473.715 

Columbia,  D.  C... 

Delaware 

Florida 

3io,ooo 

332,272 

2.563, 218 

587.167 

4.63i,i9i 

12.182,786 

Georgia 

304.342 

329.380 

18.900 

i,i5o.58o 

1,744 

Kentucky  

Louisiana 

8.641.439 
i2,43o,866 

2,120,504 

3o,5oo 
142,900 
831.342 
748,338 
510.624 
1,486,384 

$9,367,331 
9,664,656 

4,257.522 
2,596,356 
19,712,461 
8.83o,6i9 
1,109.524 
3,591,989 
5,322.262 
6,447,120 
196,100 

Mississippi 

2,386,857 
4.5o5,i86 

North  Carolina 

438,900 
359,000 
325,719 
446,063 

$3,724,447 
7,334,434 

2,7i5,q64 
970.397 
16,553,423 
4,i42,3o4 
2,086,104 
3,640,237 
5,013,007 
7,116,792 
113,000 

6  824,3o3 

4.111,247 
8.089,992 
19,317.214 

§93,362,202 

Tennessee 

Virginia 

Total 



Population 

Connecticut 

5,848,3o3 

1,853,296 
612.636 
7,754,803 
2,447.634 
1,879,180 
2,706,920 
2,099,715 
2,645,081 
225,550 

19,971,228 

Massachusetts 

Kew  Hampshire  . . 

New  Jersey 

New  York 

71,010,703 
10,052,598 
18,479,444 
88,574  35o 

Pennsylvania 

Ehode  Island 

Vermont 

59,140.480 
13.428,287 
6,579.086 

Total  goods. . . 
Total  population.. 

Illinois 

S22,224,8l5 

5,442,381 

$42,35i,23o 
6,761,082 

§52,062,953 
8,626,852 

$301,028,326 

5,956,327 
8.138.274 

135,400 

44,200 

Iowa 

347,713 

3,327,671 

Ohio 

139,378 

394,700 

27,681,570 
1,468,723 

Utah 



$274,778 
2,953,737 

Total 

?438.900 
4,903,368 

$46,920,286 

Total  population . . 

1,575,3.36 

Sout/iem.   Wealth  and  X&rthcryi  Profits.  55 

It  is  to  1)0  reiuarked;  in  relation  to  this  cotton  manufacture, 
that  in  the  early  part  of  the  century  nearly  all  clothini;  ^vas 
home-spun,  or  made  in  families.  As  the  art  of  manufacturins; 
progressed,  and  cotton  became  abundant,  the  quantities  of  all 
kinds  of  clothing  made  in  families  gradually  diminished,  being 
supplanted  by  the  machine  or  power-loom  goods,  until  the 
quantity  so  made  in  1850  had  become  unimportant.  The  cot- 
ton manufactures  of  the  West  did  not  prosper  up  to  1850, 
when  the  population  of  that  section  was  equal  to  that  of  the 
South  in  1820.  On  the  other  hand,  the  cotton  manui'acture 
in  the  South  had  taken  a  long  stride  in  the  ten  years  ending 
with  1850.  The  product  was  about  $1  per  head  of  the  ])o])u- 
lation:  a  larger  ratio  than  that  of  the  North  in  1820.  Tliere 
are  no  official  returns  of  the  progress  of  the  cotton  manufacture 
since  then ;  but  it  is  shown  that  in  1859  the  spinners  of  that 
section  took  98,000  bales  of  cotton,  or  an  increase  of  50  per 
cent,  over  the  quantity  used  in  1850.  At  the  same  rate  of 
valuation  for  cloth,  the  manufacture  in  1859  would  be  valued 
at  $14,000,000.  Tlie  rate  of  progression  was  far  greater  than 
in  the  North  and  East,  where  the  increase  was  25  per  cent, 
only,  from  1840  to  1850.  The  manufacture  thus  shows  a  strong 
affinity  for.  the  neighborhood  of  the  raw  material  and  the  mar- 
ket fur  the  goods.  "  Producers  and  consumers"'  attract  each 
other. 

According  to  the  census  returns,  the  quantity  of  cotton  pur- 
chased by  the  Northern  spinners  in  1840  was  82,077,200 
pounds;  again,  in  1850,  it  was  518,039  bales,  of  400  pounds 
each.  Tlie  quantity  was  therefore  207,215,600  pounds ;  and 
the  price  of  the  year  averaged  6^  cents,  according  to  the  treas- 
ury returns  of  exports,  making  a  value  of  $13,469,000.  Tliis 
year  the  quantity  taken  by  the  same  interest  was  760,218  bales, 
which,  at  460  pounds  to  the  bale,  gives  349,701,280  pounds, 
which,  at  11  cents  average,  makes  $38,467,140.  If  we  take  the 
cloth  produced  at  4  yards  to  the  pound,  at  the  average  of  10 
cents  per  yard,  the  results  are  as  follows : 

Lbs.  used.  Value.  Goodn  produced.  ofyoodK. 

1840 82,077.700  6,()-ib,5b2  4o,3')o,453  3o,3i3,89i 

i35o 207,215.600  13,469,000  58,369,185  38,467.434 

ib39 349,701,280  38,467,140  140,000,000  ioi,53j,86o 

Tims  the  profits  actually  fell  in  this  ].eriod  (1840  to  1850), 
but  since  then  there  has  been  a  general  ini}»rovemcnt.     In  re- 


56 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


lation  to  tlie  latter  circumstance  the  above  official  returns  give 
the  following  facts : 

Value  of  Goods  Produced  in  certain  States. 


Delaware 

Geor<ria 

Maryliind 

Missouri 

North  Carolina. 
South  Carolina. 

Tennessee 

Virginia 

Alabama 


§332.272 

3o4,3o2 

i,i5o,58o 


-Southern. ^ 

lO.  1S50. 

$538,439 
2.1 35.044 

2,I20,5o4 

142,900 
83 1, 342 
748.338 
5(0,624 
1,486,384 
882,260 


438,900 
359,000 
329,715 
446,063 
17,547 


1840. 

Indiana $1 35, 400 

New  Jersey 2,086,104 

New  York 3,640,247 

Khode  Island 7,116,792 

Kentucky 829,380 


1850. 

-^44,200 
1,109,524 
3,591,989 
6,447,120 

273,493 


Total §3,378,379      §8,895,835 

Increase 5, 517, 466 

Decrease 


$13,307,923    §11,466,326 
$1,841,597 


This  is  a  singular  result,  and  shows  that  the  cotton  manufac- 
ture does  not  increase  in  the  Middle  and  Western  States,  but  in- 
creases North  and  South.  In  the  following  states  the  highest 
increase  has  taken  place : 


18 10. 

Connecticut §2,715,964 

Maine 970,397 

Massachusetts 16, 553, 423 

New  Hampshire 4,i42,3o4 

Vermont 11 3, 000 

Total  New  England §24.495.088 

"     South 3.378,379 

"     other  States 18,476,986 

§46,350,453 


1S50. 

§4,237,522 
2,596,356 
19,712.461 

S,83o,6i9 
196,100 

§35,593.058 
8,895,835 
17,380,291 

§61,86^184 


§1,541,558 

1,625,959 

3,1 59.088 

4,688,3 1 5 

83,100 

§11,097,790 
5,517,466 


The  cost  of  the  cotton  is  found  by  adding  to  the  market 
price  the  value  of  the  waste  in  spinning ;  and  the  difference  be- 
tween the  value  and  the  selling  price  of  the  goods  per  pound 
shows  the  margin  out  of  which  is  to  be  paid  "  profit,"  labor, 
interest,  and  other  expenses  of  production.  Thus  the  cost  ol 
cotton  has  been  as  follows  : 


1853. 

1854. 

1855. 

1856. 

1857. 

Fair,  per  lb 

.    ..    6.3o 

6.18 

•77 

=:S 

6.61 
.95 

7.78 
■97 

Waste,  Vsth 

78 

Cost  to  trade 

6.95 
9.45 

6.72 
9.41 

7.43 

9.02 

8.75 

10. 2D 

89  inch  domestics — 261/2  lb 

....    9.53 

Marffin 

....    2.44 

2.49 

2.69 

.  77% 

1.40 

Thus,  in  1854,  the  margin  was  2^6?.  per  pound,  and  this 
year  less  than  l\d.  per  pound.  If  the  profits  of  1854  were  1^. 
per  pound,  then  the  mills  must,  in  the  year  1857,  have  been 
running  at  a  loss  of  -^^d.  per  pound,  and  were  consequently 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Prnftfi.  57 

compelled  to  work  short  time.  The  state  of  affairs  so  adverse 
in  Great  Britain  is  the  same  in  this  country,  and  affects  more 
particularly  those  coarser  descriptions  which  require  more  cot- 
ton. In  those  years  when  money  and  labor  is  cheap,  and  the 
material  dear,  the  factories  save  themselves  by  running  on  tiie 
tine  numbers,  and  the  reverse  in  years  w^hen  cotton  is  cheap 
and  money  and  labor  dear.  In  the  Southern  States,  the  choice 
of  fresher  material  direct  from  plantation,  less  the  cost  of 
expensive  transportation,  gives  great  advantages,  and  is  ma- 
terially drawing — with  the  aid  of  steam — the  mills  to  the 
neighborhood  of  plantations,  where  the  supply  and  choice  of 
the  best  cottons  are  at  hand.  The  long-stapled  Sea  Island  cot- 
ton— indispensable  for  numbers  above  50 — is  grown  nowhere 
but  in  Georgia ;  but  the  soft,  silk}^  fibre  of  New  Orleans  dc- 
6cri])tions  is  suitable  for  all  descri})tions  of  work  below  50,  and 
this  cotton  is  grown  nowhere  but  in  the  United  States.  The 
South  has  developed  a  capacity  for  manufacturing  that  cannot 
be  denied ;  and  while  the  progress  of  the  coarse  numbers  is  to 
the  Soutli,  the  capital  and  skill  of  the  North  is  progressing 
in  the  finer  business. 

If  now  we  take  the  aggregate  of  all  manufactures,  we  find 
the  i-esults  as  follows. 

The  statistics  of  manufactures  of  the  Union,  as  completed 
under  the  direction  of  Jos.  E.  G.  Kenned}-,  Esq.,  results  in  the 
following  abstract  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to 
Congress,  January  21,  1859.  If  we  compare  the  aggre- 
gates with  the  i)opulation  of  each  section,  we  have  results  as 
folloAvs : 

, South. ^  , Nor.Tii. >      , Wkmt. , 

Pnpidation.         Value.  Population.          Value.  Population.          Value. 

1840 7,334.434    193,362.202  6,761,082     |3oi,o28,326  2,953,737     $46,920,286 

i85o....    9,664,656     164,379,937  8,626,852       715,846,142  4,9O0,368     138,780,537 

18-IO.  1850. 

Total  population 17,069,453  23,191,876 

Total  value $23,191,876  $1,019,106,616 

Tlie  South,  it  appears,  is  not  so  entirely  destitute  of  manu- 
factures as  the  popular  mirul  has  been  led  to  believe. 


58  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


Manvfactures  of  the  United  States. 

Estahlish-  Cost  ofrnw  M(\U  Female  Cost                Value 

SouVi.  States.       ments.      Capital.  materials,  hands,  hands.  of  labor.       of  product. 

Alabama 1,026    $3,45o.6o6  ?2, 224.960  4,397  589  $i,io5,834    $4,328,876 

Arkansas 261          3o5,oi5  213,789  812  3o  138,676         537.908 

Maryland....    3,726     i4,764.45o  17.394.436  22,678  7,483  7,385,832    82.591.802 

Delaware 53i       2,978.943  2,864,607  8,287  65i  986,684      4,649,296 

D.  ot'Colum..       4o3       1,001,373  1.405,871  2,086  534  737.584      2,690.268 

Florida io3          647.060  220.611  876  ii5  199,462          668.385 

Georgia 1.622      6,466,482  8,404.917  6,65o  1,718  1,709,664      7,082.076 

Kentucky 3,6oq     11,810,462  12,165,076  19,676  1,900  5,106,048     21,710.212 

Louisiana 1,008      5,082,424  2.459,608  6,468  769  2,088,928      6,779.418 

Mississippi  ..       947       1,816,820  1.276,771  8,046  108  771,328      2,912.068 

Missouri 2,928      8,676,607  12,798,861  14,880  928  4,692.648     24824.418 

N.  Carolina..    2,687      7,221,746  4, 602, 601  10,680  1,704  1,784,604      8,861,026 

S.Carolina...     1,429      6,o53,265  2,787,584  6,992  1,074  1,127,712      7,046,477 

Tennessee...    2,887      6,627,729  6,116,886  11,080  964  2,247,492      9,726.608 

Texas '809          689,290  894,642  1,042  24  822.868       i,i65.538 

Virginia 4, 740     18,109,148  18,101,181  26,790  8,820  6,484,476     29,602,607 

Total 27,087     94,996,674  87,779,090  129,672  22,272  86,692,812   164,679.937 

Western  States. 

Illinois 3,162     $6,217,766  $8,969,827  10,066  498  $3,182,886  §16.534,272 

Indiana 4,892      7,760,402  10,869,700  18,748  692  8,728,844     18,726,428 

Iowa 622       1,292,876  2.366, 681  1,687  20  478,016      8,661,788 

Ohio 10,622     29,019,688  84,678,019  47,064  4,437  18,467,166     62.691,270 

California 1,008       1,006,197  1,201,164  3,964        8,717,180     12,862^622 

Michigan 2,028      6, 563, 660  6,186,828  8,990  864  2,716,124     11,169,002 

Wisconsin...     1,262      8,882.148  6,414,981  6,798  291  1,912,490      9,298.068 

Minnesota 5        '  94,000  24,800  68        18,640           58, 800 

N.Mexico...          28           68,3oo  110.220  81         20,772          249,010 

Oregon 62          848,600  809,660  286  ....  3S8,62o       2,286.640 

Utah 14           44,400  887,381  5i         9,984         291,220 

Total 24,096  166,888,945  69,997,168  116,067  6,297  80,164,078  188,780,687 

Eastern  States. 

Maine 8.974  $14,699,162  $18, 553, 144  21,868  6,167  $7,486,688  $24,661,067 

Massachusetts    8,269    88,867,642  86,866,771  96,261  69,677  89,784.116  161,187.146 

N.Hampshire    3, 211     18,242,114  12,746,466  14,108  12.9S9  6.128,876     28,164.603 

New  Jersey..    4,106     22,188,680  21.990,286  28,647  8,762  9,202,680    89.711,206 

New  York  ...  28,553     99,904,408  184,656,674  147.787  61,712  49.181,000287.697,249 

Pennsylvania.  21,606    94.478,810  87,206,877  124,688  22,078  37,168.822  166,044.910 

E.  Island  ... .       863     12,928,176  18,188.909  12,887  8,o44  5,oo8,666     22.098,268 

Vermont 1,849      6,001,877  4.172,662  6.894  i,55i  2,202,468      8.670.920 

Connecticut..    8,482     23,890,848  28,689,397  81,287  16,488  11,696,286    46,110,102 

Total....  71,842  882,866,782  897,847,669  487,898  197,363  170,908,674  716,846.142 

Grand  Total...   123,025      £33,245,851  555,123,822  731,107  225,922  2-36,755,464  1,019,1(.G,G1C 

In  tlie  table  of  manufactures  the  largest  item  is  flour  and 
grist  mills,  reacliing  $136,056,736.  This  manufacture  is  com- 
mon to  all  sections,  and  Virginia  ranks  the  fourth  State  in  that 
respect.  If  we  draw^  off  from  the  official  report  the  proportion 
of  leading  manufactures  in  each  section,  the  results  are  as  fol- 
lows: 


Sout/ie?'n  Wealth  and  J^orthem  Projits.  59 

East.  Wkst.  Sol-tii.  Total. 

Boots  and  shoes $45,250,305  $2,179,086  16,529.017  $53,967,408 

Hats  and  caps 13,043.495  449,556  826,813  14,319,864 

Clothiers 33.837,691  4,037.900  io,436,ii8  48.311,709 

Ciitleiy  and  tools 3,382.320  251,370  i79,35i  3,8i3,520 

Distilleries 8,420,747  5.36i,3o4  1,987,189  15,770,240 

lron-tbr<;es 6,429,160  831,692  1,741,843  9,002,703 

Iron  foundries 13.969980  3,3i3,i52  2,828,'385  20,1 11, '117 

Iron  furniiccs 8,380,674  1,714,902  3,196,322  13.491,898 

Hardware 6,725.720  164,010  78,040  232, 030 

Nails 6,796,335  68,254  797,555  7,662,144 

Iron  railing 5.340,570  197,500  1.593.011  6,936,081 

Liunbcr 31.897.614  14,243.265  12,379,083  38,520,966 

Cabinet  ware 9,376,371  3,023,423  5.261,260  i7,663,o54 

Carpenters  and  InuKkrs 11,080.491  931.882  4,874,446  16,886,819 

Taniurs  and  cm-riers 27,136.467  3.808.637  6.757,209  37.702,333 

Woollens 35,9)0.609  2.3i8.io2  1,379.846  39.848,557 

Cottons 52,062.953  438,900  9,367,331  61,867,884 

Total ^319,430.632      §43,334.955      §62,212,821      $455,226,769 

Flour  mills $67,329,922      $25,4i5,o48      $43,111,766      $i36,o56,736 

If  we  deduct  tlie  flour  product  from  the  ag<2^reg{ite  of  luanu- 
factures,  the  remainder  is  $883,050,880;  and  tlie  17  heads  of 
manufactures  here  enumerated,  it  appears,  are  rather  more 
than  one-lialf  of  that  amount.  Of  the  aggregates  of  these  17 
leading  articles  the  South  manufactures  50  per  cent,  nmrc  than 
the  "West.  In  clothing  of  all  kinds  the  South  exceeds  the  West 
in  tlie  manufacture.  But  in  the  article  of  rum  the  AVest  seems 
to  have  the  advantage:  whether  that  manufacture,  like  that  of 
hay,  is  to  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  superior  thrift,  or  moral- 
ity, or  philanthropy,  in  the  free-labor  section  over  the  slave- 
labor  region,  may  be  determined  by  the  disposition  of  those 
wdio  have  the  matter  under  consideration. 

If  now  we  compare  the  white  population  of.each  section  with 
the  number  employed  in  manutactures,  and  give  the  product 
per  liead  of  the  whole  j)opu]ation,  the  results  are  as  follows  : 

WhiU  Ilnnda 

pnpnliition.  employed.  Product.  P«r  head. 

South 6.222,4i8  i5i,944  $164,579,937  $26. 5o 

West 4.900,:'.68  122,354  138,780,537  38.00 

North 8,620,852  684,761  725,846,142  83. 00 

Total 19,749,633  959,069  $1,019,106,616  $5i.6o 

If  it  is  assumed  that  the  quantity  produced  in  this  country  is 
equal  to  its  consumption  of  domestic  manufactures,  then  the 
average  consumption  is,  it  appears,  $51. GO  i)cr  head,  of  the 
whites;  but  it  is  probable  that  the  North  and  Ea.st  consume 
more  per  head  than  the  other  sections,  and  that  the  South,  by 
reason  of  the  negroes,  consumes  more  than  the  West.  If  we 
take  Northern  consumption  at  $G0  per  head,  the  Soutlicrn  at 
$50.  and  the  AVest  at  §40,  the  results  will  be  as  follows : 


60  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

Comumed.  Made.  Surplus.                  Deficit. 

North §517,601,120  $715,846,142  $198,145,022  

South 311.120,900  164,579,937           146.520,163 

West 196,014,720  138,780,537          57,234,183 

Total §1,024,736,740      §1,019,206,616       §198,145,022       §203,754,346 

Tims  tlie  balance  of  Soutliern  purchases  from  tlie  jSTorth,  in 
manufactures,  would  be  $146,520,163  per  annum,  and  of  West- 
ern $57,23-1,183.  This  balance  is  composed  of  dry-goods,  shoes, 
hats,  hardware,  &c.,  as  their  chief  items. 

The  Boston  Post  contains  a  long  and  able  article,  showing 
the  extent  of  the  trade  between  New  England  alone  and  the 
South,  from  which  we  make  the  following  extract : 

"  The  aggregate  value  of  the  merchandise  sold  to  the  South 
annually  we  estimate  at  some  $60,000,000.  The  basis  of  the 
estimate  is,  first,  the  estimated  amount  of  boots  and  shoes  sold, 
which  intelligent  merchants  place  at  from  $20,000,000  to 
$30,000,000,  including  a  limited  amount  that  are  manufactured 
•with  us  and  sold  in  New  York.  In  the  next  place,  we  know 
from  merchants  in  the  trade,  that  the  amount  of  dry -goods  sold 
South  yearly  is  many  millions  of  dollars,  and  that  the  amount 
is  second  only  to  that  of  the  sales  of  boots  and  shoes.  In  the 
third  place,  we  learn  from  careful  inquiry,  and  from  the  best 
sources,  that  the  fish  of  various  kinds  sold  realize  $3,000,000, 
or  in  that  neighborhood.  Upwards  of  $1,000,000  is  received 
for  furniture  sold  in  the  South  each  year.  Tlie  Southern  States 
ai'e  a  much  better  market  than  the  AVestern  for  this  article.  It 
is  true,  since  the  establishment  of  branch  houses  in  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  other  cities,  many  of  the  goods  manufactured 
in  New  England  have  reached  the  South  through  those  houses ; 
but  still  the  commerce  of  New  England  with  tlie  South,  and 
this  particular  section  of  the  country  receives  the  main  advan- 
tage of  that  commerce.  And  what  shall  we  say  of  New  Eng- 
land ship-building,  that  is  so  greatly  sustained  bj'  Southern 
wants?  What  shall  we  say  of  tliat  large  ocean  fleet  that,  by 
being  the  common  carriers  of  tlie  South,  has  brought  so  large 
an  amount  of  money  into  the  pockets  of  our  merchants?  We 
will  not  undertake  to  estimate  the  value  of  these  interests,  sup- 
ported directly  by  the  Soutli.  If  many  persons  have  not  be- 
come very  ricli  by  them,  a  very  large  number  have  either  found 
themselves  well  to  do,  or  else  have  gained  a  living." 

This  estimate  of  the  Post  for  New  England  alone,  is  about 
half  the  aggregate  that  the  census  indicates  as  the  sales  of 
Northern  manufactures  to  the  South. 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northeni  Projits.  Gl 

The  South  manufactures  nearly  as  niucli  per  licad,  of  tlie 
white  population,  as  does  the  "West.  Both  these  sections  hold, 
however,  a  provincial  position  in  relation  to  the  East.  As  we 
have  seen,  heretofore,  the  first  accumulations  of  capital  in  the 
country  were  at  the  East,  from  the  earnings  of  navigation  and  the 
slave-trade.  These  were  invested  in  manufaciures,  "  ])rotected" 
by  the  tai-ifFs  imposed  by  the  federal  government.  The  opera- 
tion of  these  tariffs  was  to  tax  the  consumers  in  the  South  and 
West,  J9W  rate,  upon  what  manufactures  they  purchased  of  the 
East,  and,  by  so  doing,  to  increase  Eastern  capital  at  the  ex- 
pense of  those  other  sections.  The  articles  mostly  protected, 
and  of  which  the  cost  is  enhanced  to  the  consumers,  in  prop<u-- 
tion  to  the  duties,  are  manufactured  at  the  East  to  the  extent  of 
$320,000,000,  of  which  $200,000,000  are  sold  South  and  West. 
This  gives  an  annual  drain  of  $50,000,000  from  the  consumers 
of  those  sections,  as  a  bonus  or  j^rotection  to  the  capital  em- 
ployed in  manufacturiug  at  the  North.  The  claim  for  this  pro- 
tection is  based  upon  the  necessity  of  protecting  home  manu- 
factui'cs  against  the  overwhelming  capital  of  England.  The 
manufacturers  of  the  South  and  AVest  have  to  contend,  how- 
ever, not  only  against  the  overwhelming  capital  of  New  Eng- 
land, created  in  manufactures,  but  against  the  drain  of  capital 
from  each  locality,  caused  by  the  protection  to  Eastern  goods. 
In  spite  of  this  disability,  as  we -have  seen  in  the  tables,  the 
manufactures  of  those  sections  increase,  and  at  the  South  faster 
than  at  the  West.  There  is  another  feature  of  this  manufactur- 
ing industry  which  deserves  attention.  It  is,  that  one-third  of 
the  hands  employed  at  the  East  are  females,  and  the  product  of 
their  labor  is  made  efficient  by  steam-machinery.  If  we  take 
the  relative  numbers  employed  in  each  section  in  the  cotton 
trade,  the  result  is  as  follows  : 

North.  West.  South.  Total. 

Male 27,392  334  5,569  35.2o5 

Female 53,i84  5i3  8,960  62,661 

The  Northern  labor  is  largely  performed  by  females,  and 
this  element  of  labor  is  supplied  by  immigration  in  nearly  its 
whole  extent,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  females  em])l«»yed 
in  the  fixctories  being  Irisli.  At  the  South,  female  labor  is 
taking  the  same  direction  with  great  success. 

If  we  compare  the  M'hole  number  of  persons  employed  in 
manufactures  of  all  kinds  at  the  South.  Mith  thot-e  to  (■iiij)loyed 


62  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

at  the  "West,  as  seen  in  the  above  census  table,  we  find  at  the 
South  the  number  employed  is  151,944,  or  one  in  41  of  the 
white  population.  At  the  West  the  number  so  employed  is 
122,364,  or  one  in  40  of  the  population.  These  figures  give  no 
advantage  to  the  free-labor  section,  as  opposed  to  the  slave-labor 
section.  There  is  here  no  evidence  that  the  existence  of  slavery 
is  in  any  degree  opposed  to  the  development  of  white  industry. 
It  is  only  another  evidence  in  corroboration  of  that  afforded  by 
the  history  of  the  Northern  States.  The  theory  has  been  ad- 
vanced against  the  extension  of  slavery  into  the  territories,  that 
slavery  degrades  labor,  and  drives  out  free  industry.  In  1Y90 
the  New  England  and  Middle  States  had  1,968,455  inhabitants, 
of  which  40,372  w^ere  slaves.  Did  that  slave-labor  drive  out 
white  labor  %  or  has  not  the  latter  extinguished  the  former,  and 
cast  adrift  the  then  well-cared-for  negroes,  to  starve  in  little 
bands  on  the  outskirts  of  the  towns  and  villages,  their  former 
happy  homes,  the  wasting  monument  of  the  incapacity  of  a 
race,  and  of  the  selfishness  of  that  philanthropy  which  found  a 
pecuniary  relief  in  conferring  the  blessings  of  liberty  on  their 
henceforth  useless  servants  ? 

What  we  do  find  in  these  figures  is,  that  the  South,  having 
become  possessed  of  capital,  is  prosecuting  manufactures  at  a 
rate  which  will  soon  make  a  "  home  market"  for  its  raw  mate- 
rials, and  place  it  foremost  in  the  rank  of  exporters  of  goods. 
The  figures  show  that  it  is  fast  supplanting  Northern  and  im- 
ported goods  with  its  own  industry.  It  will  not,  like  the 
North,  however,  have  provincial  markets  to  supply,  but  having 
all  within  its  own  border,  will  annually  diminisli  its  purchases 
from  the  North.  It  will  have  foreign  markets  for  its  surplus. 
The  countries  of  South  America  and  Asia  will  be  open  to  it, 
and  if  it  there  encounters  British  and  New  England  competition 
it  will  have  the  advantage  of  having,  unprotected,  developed 
its  manufactures  in  face  of  the  competition  of  Northern  goods 
in  the  home  market,  and  therefore  become  able  to  meet  those 
goods  in  any  market.  If,  in  a  few  years,  it  does  not  become  a 
seller  of  cotton  goods  to  the  North,  on  a  large  scale,  as  it  already 
is  on  a  small  sctde,  since  Georgia  and  Alabama  cottons  are  fa- 
vorites in  New  York,  it  will  take  none  from  them.  The  North 
will,  however,  still  require  food  and  materials,  and  the  scale  of 
dependence  may  vibrate. 

We  have  here  confined  our  remarks  to  the  actual  figures  of 
the  census  of  1850.     It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that 


Soutliern  Wtalf/i  ,it7ul  Xorf/tcni  Prof  is.  (53 

industry  of  all  kinds  has  made  nii)id  strides  in  all  ])arts  cf  the 
Union  since  the  date  of  that  census.  There  arc,  however,  un- 
fortunately, no  general  official  figures  for  the  state  of  industry 
since.  The  States  of  Massachusetts  and  Kew  York  give  State 
returns  for  the  year  1S55,  and  those  returns,  as  compared  witli 
1S50,  show  prodigious  progi-ess. 

. 1S50 ,  , IS.M. . 

Capital.        Hands.           Value.  Capita.         IIiukU.           V,ilui>. 

Mass 83,357,642     165,948     i5i.i37.i45  120.693,258    243,908    293,820,682 

New  York..    99,904,403     199,449    237,397,249  106,349.977    214,899    3i7,428,33i 

Total....  183,262,045    365,397     388,734,394  227,o4",235    460.S07    613,249.014 

Increa.se 43,781,190      95,410    224,514,020 

This  rate  of  increase  has  been  immense.  Those  two  States, 
according  to  the  national  census  (»f  1850,  produced  more  than 
half  the  whole  amount  of  Northern  manufactures.  If  they 
hold  the  same  proportion  uow,  the  Northern  manufactures  will 
reach  81,230,000,000,  and  of  these  the  sales  to  the  South  will 
reach  8300,000,000.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Southern  manu- 
factures will  have  increased  in  as  rapid  a  ratio — the  demand  for 
goods  being  in  the  double  proportion  of  increasing  numbers,  \ 
and  of  greater  wealth  per  head.  We  have  seen  that  the  agricul-  \ 
tural  wealth  of  the  South  swells  annually  in  volume.  A  late 
number  of  the  Ncio  York  IL:rald  contains,  from  a  corre- 
spondent, the  following  ligures  in  relation  to  mills  near  Co- 
lumbus, Georgia: 

"The  Eagle  mills,  established  since  1850,  use  300,000  lbs. 
wool,  and  736,000  lbs.  of  cotton.  It  has  130  looms,  employs 
70  girls,  who  earn  50  cents  to  %\  per  day.  It  employs  225 
hands,  and  pays  10  per  cent,  dividends.  Other  mills  are  as 
f<.)llows : 

Spindle*.  Looths.  Hands.  Good*. 

Y.:vj]o i36  225  Cotton  and  woollen. 

Howard 5,ooo  ...  200  Cotton. 

(Jnint ...  100  " 

i.'oluiiibus ...  JOO  " 

Ovrvetta 2,700  ...  75  " 

Macon ...  180  " 

I'lanter-s 3, 200  ...  75  " 

MiUodscville 3,i36  ...  I2e  " 

.Meelwater 6,000  80  200  '' 

Rover.-* ...  5o  " 

Athens 2,5oo  ...  5o  " 

I'rinccton 2.424  ...  70            Cotton  and  woollcD. 

Mars  Hill 35o  12  ...                       Cotton. 

Whites 1,740  20  ...  " 

Schlevs 

Rowe\l 10,000  . . .  35o  " 

Aiiwiista 10,000  200  400  " 


^ 


64  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


Broad  River 

Spindles. 
.    .     5  000 

Looms. 

'36 
40 

'26 
26 

Bands. 

100 

70 
65 

■50 
40 
3o 
5o 

Goods. 
Cotton 

Eaton 

Richmond 

Troup 

Franklin 

Wavnians 

Flint  River 

1,836 

i,5oo 

i,6oo 

1,320 

1,664 

i,56o 

U 

Thomaston 

..     I  260 

,{ 

Rock  Mills 

600 

u 

Brothers  .... 

...             I  000 

n 

Joy 

" 

"  The  operatives  in  all  these  factories  are  whifp.  ppoplp^ 
chie5[j"girlsjind  bojs  from  twelve  to  twenty  ,years  of  a^e.  On 
ail  average  they  are  better  paid,  and  worked  easier  than  is 
usually  the  case  in  the  North.  Country  girls  from  tlie  pine 
forests,  as  green  and  awkward  as  it  is  possible  to  find  them, 
soon  become  skilful  operatives,  and  ere  they  have  been  in  the 
mills  a  year  they  are  able  to  earn  from  four  to  six  dollars  a 
week.  They  are  only  requii'ed  to  woi^k  ten  hours  a  day.  Par- 
ticular attention  is  paid  to  the  character  of  the  operatives,  and 
in  some  mills  none  are  received  but  those  having  testimonials 
of  good  moral  character  and  industrious  habits.  Churches  and 
Sunday-schools  are  also  attached  to  several  of  the  manufacto- 
ries, so  that  the  religious  training  of  the  operatives  may  be 
\  properly  attended  to." 

The  movement  of  population  is  to  be  taken  into  the  account, 
in  connection  with  this  subject  of  the  manufactures  and  sec- 
tional industry.  We  have  already  stated  that  the  New  Eng- 
land female  labor  is  largely  foreign.  TVe  may  now  turn  to 
the  official  statistics,  and  take  therefrom  the  number  of  aliens 
who  arrived  in  the  country  in  20  years,  ending  with  1850,  and 
we  find  it  is  2,466,200  souls.  Of  these,  very  few  went  South. 
The  number,  according  to  the  census,  living  at  the  South,  of 
foreign  origin,  was  316,670.  Of  these,  a  considerable  number 
were  annexed  by  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  and  Florida.  The 
number  living  at  the  North,  of  foreign  origin,  was  1,923,865. 
Of  these,  601,928  dwelt  at  the  West.  The  greater  proportion 
of  these  emigrants  at  the  North  were  mechanics  of  various  de- 
scriptions, and  very  many  of  them  brought  their  own  capital 
into  the  country.  The  estimate  of  what  each  brought  has  not 
been  less  than  $100,  which  would  give  $60,192,800  carried 
into  the  West,  and  $132,183,700  located  North  and  East,  or 
very  nearly  two  hundred  millions  of  the  capital  of  the  North 


Sout/wrn  Wealth  and  XoHherii  Profits.  C5 

and  West  was  brought  in  by  iinniigrants,  who  prosecuted  witli 
it  those  small  trades,  the  products  of  which  found  euch  ready 
market  from  Southern  buyers.  German  liatters,  cabinet-ma- 
kers, tailors,  etc.,  swarm  in  the  Northern  cities,  A  "  turn-out" 
of  3000  German  tailors  alone  took  place  on  one  occasion  in 
Ifew  York  ciXj.  Although  these  persons  arc  located  at  tlic 
North,  their  employment  comes  almost  altogether  from  tin; 
South.  Indeed,  without  the  growing  capacity  of  the  South  to 
absorb  larger  amounts  of  goods  annually,  the  North  would  be 
utterly  unable  to  keep  einployed  the  crowds  of  foreign  artisans 
which  arrive  each  week.  While  the  South  gives  them  the 
employment,  their  arrival  is  a  blessing  to  the  whole  country. 
In  the  North,  the  female  portion  of  the  community  have,  as 
we  have  seen,  also  become  producers.  Tliis  immigrant  move- 
ment has  added  an  element  to  Northern  and  Western  progress 
which  the  South  has  not  received,  but  it  has  nevertheless  well 
maintained  its  relative  position. 

Tlie  sales  of  Northern  manufactures  to  the  South,  as  part 
of  the  oifset  to  the  large  receipts  of  Southern  produce,  may 
he  placed  at  8150,000,000,  and  from  the  West  at  possibly 
830,000,000  ;  making  $180,000,000  worth  of  domestic  mer- 
chandise purchased  by  the  South,  in  addition  to  the  imported 
goods. 

The  efforts  which  are  being  now  made  at  the  South  to  foster 
the  production  of  goods  there  to  the  exclusion  of  Northern 
wares,  are  very  similar  to  those  which  were  made  by  the 
New  England  colonies,  when  dissatisfaction  began  to  run  high 
against  the  mother  country.  In  the  year  1761,  there  had  been 
imposed  restrictions  upon  trade  which  gave  great  offence. 
Tlie  colonies,  therefore,  determined  to  wear  no  more  Englisli 
cloth,  but  to  manufacture  for  themselves,  and  liome-spun  be- 
came the  fashion.  "  Associations  were  entered  into  to  retrcncli 
all  superfluous  expenses  (and  particularly  funeral  mournings), 
and  to  encourage  every  species  of  manufacture  ;  and  they  uc- 
tnully  set  about  it  with  so  mucli  ardor,  that  they  soon  pro- 
duced such  specimens  as  caused  them  to  think  they  could  do 
without  the  foreign  trade." — McPhcrson. 

In  the  year  17C7,  General  riiineas  Lyman  api)licd  for  a 
grant  to  settle  the  Oliio  country  as  a  military  colony,  and  his 
metiiorial  states  :  "  The  time  will  doubtless  come  when  North 
America  will  no  longer  acknowledge  a  de])endencc  on  any 
part  of  Europe.  P.ut  that  i)eri(Kl  seems  to  be  so  remote,  as 
5 


66  Southern  ^Yealth  and  NortTiern  Profits. 

not  to  be  at  present  an  object  of  rational  policy  or  human  pre- 
vention ;  and  it  will  be  made  still  more  remote  by  opening  new 
scenes  of  agriculture,  and  widening  the  space  which  the  colo- 
nists must  first  completely  occupy." 

Twelv^e  years  after  the  rude  "specimens"  of  manufacture  were 
produced  ;  and  nine  years  after  General  Lyman''s  remarkable 
letter,  the  separation,  which  all  treated  as  chimerical,  took 
place,  and  the  facts  are  a  lesson  to  the  existing  times.  That 
North  Avhich,  ^6  years  since,  was  derided  by  the  English  for 
adopting  home-spun  in  self-defence,  is  now  deriding  the  South 
for  a  similar  determination.  The  North  derides  Southern  sepa- 
ration, and,  in  the  lead  of  purblind  politicians,  is  pushing  dis- 
satisfaction to  an  extent  as  great  as  did  the  absurd  ministers 
of  George  III,,  but  for  far  more  futile  reasons.  England 
sought  revenue.  The  North,  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  evei-y 
possible  advantage,  seeks,  in  the  mere  wantonness  of  prosper- 
ity, to  enforce  abstractions  upon  the  South,  that  must  prove 
as  fatal  to  that  section  as  to  the  whole  Union.  The  South  is 
not  now  in  the  destitute  condition  that  the  colonies  were. 
They  have,  as  we  have  seen,  a  large  manufacturing  industry, 
and  they  have  already  begun  to  apply  to  it  that  spur  which 
was  so  effective  with  the  colonies.  Our  ancestors  smiled 
when  a  swaggering  Colonel  in  Parliament  assured  ministers 
that  "  with  a  single  regiment  lie  could  march  through  the 
colonies,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  with  fire  and  sword."  In 
our  day,  a  swaggering  Congressman  asserts  that  the  "eigh- 
teen millions  of  people  at  the  North  will  not  permit  separa- 
tion." The  fatuity  of  our  day  is  expressed  in  the  same  lan- 
Sfuaee  as  was  that  of  Lord  North.  Gov.  Pettus  has  recom- 
mended  to  the  Legislature  of  Mississippi  the  imposition  of  five 
or  ten  per  cent,  taxes  on  all  wares  offered  for  sale  in  that  State, 
which  are  not  made  in  it.  The  Governor  of  Yirginia  has  made 
a  similar  proposition.  In  Louisiana  the  following  language  is 
held  :  "Better  rely  upon  encouragement  than  repression.  Of- 
fer five,  or  some  other  per  cent.,  upon  every  thing  made  in  the 
State,  and  manufactories  would  soon  spring  up  which  would 
gradually  shove  the  manufactures  of  other  communities  out  of 
the  market.  At  the  same  time  it  would  lead  to  no  litigation, 
cause  no  bad  blood,  produce  no  sectional  reaction  elsewhere, 
and  oppress  no  portion  of  the  people  of  tlie  State.  It  would 
have  a  tendency  to  create  home  manufactures,  and  thus  make 
the  State  independent. 


Sout/uni  Wealth  and  Northcni  P i'ojiti>.^^^Z][pr)'n^''\  ■^* 

"  Let  the  Legislature  of  Louisiana  adopt  the  encouragiiig 
s\-stoui,  rather  thau  the  system  of  repression.  Tlic  latter  is  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  enforce,  and  generally  fails  of  its  objects 
at  Last."  ^ 

All  the  States  are  active  in  this  direction,  and  great  results 
will  follow.  If  there  is  no  more  serious  consequences  fru!n 
tlieir  movement*,  a  large  increase  of  manutactures  will  supply 
the  local  demand,  and  a  struggle  take  place  between  the  North- 
ern and  the  local  manufacturers.  In  the  long  run  the  latter 
must  trini\iph,  even  if  the  Northern  States  should  adopt  the 
French  system,  and  give  a  drawback  upon  exports  from  the 
States. 

It  certain!}'  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  spectacles  of 
the  age  to  see  a  great,  intelligent,  and  manufacturing  people 
voluntarily  permitting  a  few  political  aspirants  to  attack  their 
best  customer,  and  seek  to  destroy  his  means  of  purchase,  and 
merely  for  a  chimera.  The  French  Emperor  has  proclaimed 
that  France  alone  "  goes  to  war  for  an  idea."  But  America 
presents  the  spectacle  of  a  people  who  go  to  destruction  for  an 
"  idea."  That  political  party  which  threatens  with  fire  and 
sword  every  Southern  hearth,  with  violent  death  every  South- 
ern man,  and  with  dishonor  every  Southern  female,  amid  a 
saturnalia  of  blood,  receives  countenance  from  merchants  whose 
trade  depends  upon  the  good-will  of  their  threatened  neighbors, 
and  yet  vainly  hope  that  they  will  continue  to  buy  Northern 
wares,  and  make  no  effort  to  prepare  for  that  hour  which  the 
tendency  of  that  party,  for  the  last  30  years,  makes  inevitable. 


CIlAPTEPv  Y. 

rMI'ORTS    AND    EXI'OUTS. 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  observed  the  extraordi- 
nary progress  which  the  Union  as  a  whole  has  made,  since  the 
formation  of  the  government,  in  material  well-being.  In  (50 
years  its  w^hole  agricultural  ]n-<>duction  has  risen  from  an  unim- 
portant sum  to  $1,070,000,000,  and  its  manufactures  from 
nothing  to  $1,019,000,000.  All  sections  have  contributed  more 
or  less  to  this  progress,  which  has  met  those  popular  wants  tiiat 


68  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

have  increased  in  the  double  ratio  of  greater  numbers  and 
affluence.  It  follows  from  this  immense  increase  in  the  prod- 
ucts of  industry,  that  a  considerable  surplus  of  many  articles 
above  the  wants  of  the  people  remained  for  exchange  with  tlie 
products  of  foreign  nations.  We  hnd  accordingly  year  by  year 
as  the  production  went  on,  that  external  commerce  extended 
itself.  In  40  years  last  past  the  imports  and  exports  from  an 
aggregate  of  $39,500,000,  rose  to  $681,000,000.  The  surplus 
of  the  country  flowed  off  in  exchange  for  such  articles  of 
foreign  origin,  as  were  wanted  to  supply  necessaries  or  pamper 
increasing  luxury. 

The  nature  of  international  trade  is  for  two  countries  to  ex- 
change such  products  as  each  by  peculiarity  of  climate  or  nat- 
ural facilities  can  pi-oduce  to  the  best  advantage.  "Where  two 
countries  having  nearly  the  same  soil  and  climate  occupy  them- 
selves with  the  same  pursuits,  an  extensive  trade  between  them 
is  not  possible.  Each  produces  for  itself  a  sufficiency  of  what 
the  industry  of  the  other  tunis  out.  This  was  very  early  recog- 
nized in  the  case  of  the  Kew  England  colonies  and  was  the 
leading  motive  for  prohibiting  them  from  manufacturing.  They 
were  confined  to  catching  fish,  and  selling  it,  with  lumber,  ifec, 
to  the  West  Indies,  for  tropical  products,  to  send  to  England, 
in  payment  of  the  manufactures  she  furnished  them. 

The  trade  of  the  liorth  American  colonies  with  England  up 
to  the  time  it  was  interrupted  by  the  growing  diflBculties  with 
the  mother  country,  may  be  seen  in  the  figures  for  the  year 
1Y64 : 

Imported  from  Erporied  to 

England.  Mngland. 

IS'cw  England 459,765  88,137 

New  York 5i3,4i6  53, 697 

Pennsylvania 435,191  36,258 

Total £1,410,372  £168,112 

Virginia  and  Maryland 5i5,i92  559, 4o3 

Carolina 3o5,8o8  341,727 

Georgia i8,388  3i,325 

Total £839,388  £932,460 

Grand  total £2,249,760  £1 ,  100,572 

It  is  here  observed  that  the  "  balance"  against  the  I^orthern 
colonies  was  very  large,  M'hile  there  was  a  balance  due  the 
South.  The  Northern  colonies  at  that  time,  as  ever  since,  had 
nothing  fitted  to  the  English  market,  and  yet  they  purchased 
largely  of  England,  and  paid  well.     They  managed  to  do  this 


Scrutheni  Wealth  and  Norihern  ProfU.  GO 

b}"  sending;  small,  clieapl_y-bnilt  vessels  to  the  \V"c^;t  India 
islands,  laden  with  the  inferior  sort  of  fish,  caught  by  rlieir 
fisliei-s,  beef,  pork,  butter,  horses,  i)Oultry,  corn,  flour,  cidor, 
apples,  cabbages,  onions,  &c..  and  these  were  sold  mostly  fur 
coin,  which  was  remitted  to  England.  They  also  sold  the  host 
fish  to  the  Catholic  countries  of  Europe,  and  remitted  to  Lon- 
don the  bills  drawn  against  it.  This  was  the  sim])lc  business  of 
New  England.  The  trade  of  the  Northern  colonics  with 
Euroi>e  and  the  West  Indies  stood  thus : 

ErporUdlo  Imports  from 

New  England 407.3 1 4  340.339 

New  York ii8,524  ii3,o46 

New  .Jersey 2.33i  1090 

Pennsylvania 382,64i  194,841 

Total §9ij,oi3  $65o,2i6 

The  exports  of  the  South  paid  for  all  they  imported,  and 
trade  being  then  far  more  direct  than  it  has  since  become,  the 
real  state  of  their  balances  could  easily  be  distinguished.  The 
New  England  vessels  returning  from  Europe  made  the  Alricari 
coast  for  slaves,  which  tlie3^  sold  in  the  Southern  ports,  and  by 
so  doing,  absorbed  the  balance  due  those  colonies  from  England. 

When  the  American  Union  was  formed,  and  the  North  em- 
barked so  eagerly  in  manufacturing,  that  circumstance  of  itself 
would  soon  have  brought  all  trade  between  New  and  old  luig- 
land  to  an  end,  if  the  former  could  not  have  commanded  produce 
to  send  thither.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  the  growtli  of  the 
trade  has  been  almost  altogether  in  Southern  produce,  swollen 
from  time  to  time  with  some  AVestern  grain,  when  famine  abroad 
caused  an  e.xtra  demand  for  food,  and  latterly  California  gold 
has  increiised  the  exports.  The  growers  of  the  Southern  prod- 
uce ai-e  they  who  hav^e  required  the  imports.  As  the  Colonies 
had  obtained  Southern  produce  for  slaves,  so  the  States  ex- 
tracted it  in  exchange  for  numufactures.  The  aggregate  im- 
ports and  exports  have  been  as  follows,  since  the  accounts 
began  to  he  regularly  kept : 

United  States  ImjxirU  and  Brjwrfs. 

Import*.  pomrntic  erportn. 

1821 $23,iHo.862  ^16,339,1.19 

i83i 4i.854,3j3  28.841,43^ 

1841 45.i3o.oo7  44,184,357 

i85i 90,612,23s  io5, 121,021 

1837 360.890.141  348,043,615 

1859 338,768,i3o  342,279-^' 

The  general  trade  of  the  country  is  governed  by  the  amoimt 


70  Southern  Wealth  and  Nortliern  Profits. 

of  domestic  j)rodnctioiis  to  be  sold.  Thns  a  certain  amount  of 
cotton,  tobacco,  rice,  wheat,  corn,  &c.,  is  reqnired  for  the  con- 
snmption  of  the  people.  The  quantity  produced  beyond  what 
is  reqnired  for  those  wants,  or  beyond  what  the  people  can  pay 
for,  is  exported  to  meet  the  wants  of  other  nations,  and  it  goes, 
through  the  unerring  skill  of  the  merchants,  to  those  coinitries 
that  want  it  most.  Of  cotton  and  tobacco  there  is  not  enongli 
raised  to  meet  the  demand,  and  those  countries  get  it  whicli 
pay  the  best  for  it.  In  some  years  this  is  the  case  with  food. 
In  1846,  'T,  and  1854,  '5,  there  was  not  enough,  and  all  countries 
bid  against  each  other  for  it.  The  United  States  sold  largely, 
except  in  1855,  when  there  was  no  surplus  here  beyond  the 
wants  of  the  people,  and  none  was  sold.  In  usual  years  a  good 
deal  of  grain  can  be  spared.  These  raw  products,  nearly  all 
furnished  by  the  South,  compose  two-thirds  of  the  domestic 
merchandise  exported.  The  proceeds  of  all  return  into  the 
country  mostly  in  the  shape  of  manufactures.  The  amount  is 
increased  by  the  earnings  of  American  ships  abroad,  and  also  by 
the  sums  sent  to  this  country  for  investment.  From  this  aggre- 
gate is  to  be  taken  the  interest  due  abroad,  and  the  expenses  of 
American  travellers  there,  or  nearly  as  follows,  for  the  last  year. 

Exports — domestic  produce §1278, 392,080 

Surplus  California  gold  product 42,000,000 

■  Freight  earnings — estimate 3o, 000,000 

Total  to  credit _. |35o,392,o8o 

Interest  due  abroad ^30,000,000 

Expenses  of  travellers 20,000,000 

— '■ 35,000,000 

$315,392,080 
Actual  net  imports,  1859 316,823,370 

This  gives  the  amount  of  goods  that  are  received  in  exchange 
for  produce  sold.  It  is  obvious  that  unless  the  ]3roduce  is  giveji 
away,  something  must  be  taken  in  payment.  As  we  produce 
gold  in  sums  larger  than  we  require,  that  cannot  be  imported 
to  advantage.  We  have  food  and  raw  material  in  excess,  and 
can  therefore,  if  we  trade  at  all,  take  only  such  foreign  wares 
as  those  Avho  buy  of  us  can  supply  to  the  best  advantage.  The 
food,  the  gold,  and  the  cotton  which  we  sell,  Europe  must  have, 
and  sales  of  these  regulate  the  quantities  of  goods,  pretty  nearly, 
tliat  come  back.  The  kinds  of  goods  so  received  depend,  in 
some  degree,  upon  their  ability  to  compete  with  tlie  Northern 
manufactures,  which  have  the  preference.  If  a  Massachusetts 
factory  can  make  a  certain  style  of  cotton  goods  as  cheap  as  the 


Sout/itni  Wealth  and  Xorihcrn  Projit'^.  71 

English,  it  has  a  duty  of  20  per  cent.,  unci  lo  per  cent,  charges, 
or  30  per  cent,  preference  over  the  English,  which  insures  it 
the  market  at  a  large  profit.  The  account  is  sometimes  dis- 
turbed by  credit.  As  in  the  case  of  the  recent  railroad  specu- 
lation, large  sums  are  sent  from  England  here  for  investment. 
If  these  in  one  year  reach,  say,  §30,000,000,  goods  to  that 
amount  ma}^  be,  and  are,  imported,  in  addition.  It  also  hap- 
pens, at  such  seasons,  that  sellers  supply  goods  on  credit  to 
other  than  regular  merchants.  Those  dealers  sustain  them- 
selves by  bank  operations  until  explosion  takes  place.  The 
trade  then  settles  back  to  the  real  staple  exports  of  the  coun- 
try ;  and  these,  as  we  have  said,  are  of  Southern  origin. 

The  leading  exports  from  the  country,  from  time  to  time, 
have  been  as  follows : 

United  States  Exiwrts. 


Flour  and 

Year. 

Cottoti. 

Tobacco. 

provision-!). 

Rice. 

Jfanu/aciuret. 

ToUiL 

1790.. 
i8o3.. 

42,285 

4,349,567 
6.20Q.000 

5,991,171 
I3,o5o,ooo 

1,753,796 
2.453.000 

i9,6f36,ioi 

.      7.920.000 

2,0O0,00« 

42.205,961 

1807.. 

.     l4.232.O00 

5.476,000 

15,706,000 

2,307.000 

2,309,000 

48,699,392 
64,781.896 

1816.. 

.   24,106,000 

12,809,000 

20.587,376 

2,378,880 

2.33i,ooo 

1821.. 

.    20,137,484 

5,648,962 

12,341.360 

1,494,387 

2,752,631 

43,671.894 
59.218,583 

i83i.. 

.   31,724.682 

4,8^2,388 

12.424,701 

2,016,267 

5.086,890 

i836.. 

.   71.284^925 

10,038,640 

0,588,359 

16.902,876 

2,548,730 

6,107,528 

106.916.680 

1842.. 

.  47,593,464 

9,540,733 

1,907,387 

7.102,101 

91,799.242 
150.374,844 

1847.. 

.   53.4 1 5.848 

7,242,086 

68,701.921 

3,605,896 

10,351,364 

i85i.. 

.Ii2,3i5,3i7 

9.219,251 

21,94.8,631 

2,170,997 
2,207,148 

20,136,967 

178.620,138 

1809.. 

.161,434,923 

21,074,038 

37,987,395 

82,471,927 

278,392,080 

These  figures  are  from  the  Treasury  tables.  In  1790  the  same 
genei-al  state  of  trade  existed  as  before  the  war.  The  tempo- 
rary free  trade  with  France  had  given  some  little  impulse  to 
business,  but  the  Northern  ships  no  longer  enj(»ycd  the  same 
privileges  in  the  English  ports,  and  the  slave-trade  was  injured 
by  the  want  of  coast  goods,  and  by  the  great  depres-sion  in  tite 
value  of  blacks  in  the  South.  AVith  the  French  wars,  however, 
the  carrying  trade  became  active,  and  a  large  market  for  pro- 
visions was  opened  up  on  the  continent.  The  Middle  States  and 
New  England  then  supplied  considerable  quantities,  and  in  1.S03 
business  was  flourishing.  In  1.S07  the  trade  was  large.  The  em- 
bargo was  to  take  i>lace  in  the  following  year,  and  produce  was 
hurried  forward,  and  cotton,  tobacco,  and  rice  were  one-iialf  the 
whole.  The  embai-go  and  the  war  luid  a  serious  eflect  upon 
Southern  staples;  but  the  events  of  those  years  conferred  fortune 
on  many  aXortheru  merchant.  New  York  has  just  imried  one 
of  her  oldest  merchants,  whose  princely  t'ovtmu'.  was  l>egun  l»y  the 
large  profits  on  cotton.    The  princely  Girard  *)wed  his  fortune  to 


72  Soicthern  Wealth  and  Nortliern  Profits. 

the  slave  accumulation  of  St.  Domingo  ;  and  there  are  few  "  old 
families"  JSTorth  whose  fortunes  are  not  dated  from  slave  con- 
nections. With  the  return  of  peace,  in  1816,  the  exports  were 
largely  developed;  the  produce  accumulated  during  the  war 
went  forward  in  great  affluence.  The  ISTew  England  States 
had,  however,  then  embarked  in  manufactures,  and  the  popu- 
lation of  the  ISTorth,  soon  absorbed  in  those  employments,  con- 
sumed all  their  own  provisions  and  breadstuffs,  and  there  was 
little  to  export  beyond  that  sent  from  the  South  to  the  South 
American  States.  "With  the  great  development  of  manufac- 
tures in  England  and  Western  Europe,  the  same  circumstances 
occurred,  and  an  outside  supply  of  provisions  became  yearly 
more  necessary.  The  West  nearly  reached  a  condition  to  sup- 
ply this  demand  when  the  "free  trade"  policy  was  adopted  by 
England,  in  1842.  The  famine  of  1846  carried  the  export  of 
breadstuifs  and  provisions  from  the  TJ.  States  to  its  highest 
point ;  and  it  has  since  subsided  because  in  some  cases  the  sur- 
plus growth  of  the  West  did  not  suffice  to  feed  the  Eastern 
States,  even  with  the  aid  of  the  South,  and  leave  any  thing  for 
export. 

The  manufacturers  of  the  north  have  not  afforded  much  sur- 

)/'  plus  for  export.  They  were  bred  up  under  the  protective  sys- 
tem, avowedly  because  they  could  not  compete  with  the 
English  manufacturer  in  this  market,  and  it  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  they  could,  under  such  circumstances,  do  so  in  a 
third  njarket.     The  greatest  increase  that  has  taken  place  in 

*■  manufactures  has  been  in  cotton  goods,  and  these  have  in- 
creased in  the  proportion  in  which,  as  we- have  seen  in  a  former 
chapter,  the  progress  of  manufactures  at  the  South  has  occu- 
pied the  home  market.  The  South  atfords  the  material  for  that 
manufacture.  The  exports  of  breadstuffs  and  provisions  are 
also  due  to  the  South,  since  but  for  the  quantities  of  these 
which  are  sent  ISTorth  to  feed  the  Eastern  States,  little  or  no 
Western  produce  could  be  spared  for  Europe,  even  at  high 
prices.  In  this  respect  the  West  is  situated  like  the  English 
AVest  Indies.  There  is  prolifrc  land  enough  to  raise  abundance 
for  export,  but  no  labor.  The  introduction  and  use  of  labor- 
saving  machines  alone  enables  the  West  to  export  at  all.  The 
use  of  these  requires  more  capital  than  the  agTiculturalists 
generally  possess  ;  but  with  time,  no  doubt,  they  will  increase. 
The  West  enjoys  within  its  bosom  almost  limitless  supplies 
of  raw  material  for  every  description  of  manufacture  except 


Soidhcrn  Wealth  and  Xorthevii  Projiti't.  73 

cotton.  Its  metals,  coal,  lumber,  building  nuitorials,  raw  ma- 
terials, every  thing  exists  in  abundance;  requiring  only  capital 
to  develop  them  rapidly.  In  this  it  contrasts  strongly  with  the 
barren  hills  of  New  England,  which  are  as  destitute  of  metals 
as  of  fertility.  They  afford  no  materials  for  the  employment 
of  her  busy  people,  not  even  a  sufficiency  of  wool.  Tiiey  have 
hitherto  had  their  food  and  materials  brought  to  them,  and 
have  sent  back  goods  in  return,  manufiictured  under  cover 
of  those  protective  tariffs  which  all  consumers  have  submitted 
to  for  their  benefit  and  the  convenience  of  the  Federal  Union. 
That  state  of  things  cannot  last;  the  West  will  acquire  ca})ital 
and  numufacture  for  itself.  The  South  is  making  long  strides 
in  the  same  direction,  and  all  the  sooner  that  the  North  insists 
upon  manufacturing  morality  as  well  as  woollens,  and  fitting 
the  South  with  new  principles  as  well  as  new  shoes. 

If  we  analyze  the  export  trade  of  the  country  in  respect  of 
the  origin  of  the  exports,  we  shall  find  that  more  than  one-half 
the  Avhole  is  exclusively  of  Southern  origin  ;  that  of  those  arti- 
cles that  are  common  to  all  sections,  one-half  goes  directly 
from  the  South  ;  and  that  of  the  Northern  nninufactures  that 
are  exported,  much  of  the  raw  material  is  also  of  Southern 
origin. 

Tiie  following  exports  for  the  years  1857  and  1859  distin- 
guish the  origin : 

United  Slates  Exports  for  1857  and  1859. 

Of  Southern  or-igin.  ISSr.  1S59. 

Cotton $i3i,575,85g  $i6i,43.',.923 

Tobacco 21,707.799  21,074,038 

Rice 2.290.400  2,207,148 

Naval   stores 2.494.53o  3,695,474 

Snjrar 190.012  196,735 

Molasses io8,oo3  75;699 

Hemp 33,687  9i227 

Total ?;i57,402,29O  $188,693.49^ 

Other  from  South 24.308,967  8,io8,63j 

Cotton  inanufactures 3.669,106  4,989,733 

Total  from  South f  i85,47o,263  $198,389,351 

From  the  Nortli 93^i6,35o  78,217,202  j 

Totalmerchandi.se $278,886,613  $278,393,080       ~ 

Specie 60,078,352  57,5o2,3o5 

The  cotton  manufactures  ex})orted  in  1S57  amounted  to 
$0,115,177.  The  raw  material  was  valued  at  GO  per  cent.,  or 
$3,609,100  as  the  interest  of  the  South  in  that  export.  The 
"  other  exports"  were  con)posed  of  breadstuifs,  c^'c.     Thus  the 


7-i  Southern  Wealth  and  JVortJiern  Profits. 

wheat  and  corn  exportation  in  that  year  reached  the  following 
figures : 

Wheat.  Flour.  Corn.  Total. 

From  South $4,143,787  §7,888,167  $1,225,098         $i3,259,o52 

"      North 18,094,070  17,994,149  3,939,567  40,047,786 

Total $22,240,357        $23,882,816         $5,184,665  $53,3o6,S3S 

The  quantity  of  these  articles  (40,047,786)  which  went  direct 
from  the  ^Northern  States  did  not  exceed  the  quantities  which 
that  section  received  from  the  South  and  from  Canada.  The 
fact  was,  therefore,  that  with  the  exception  of  manufactures, 
the  South  furnished  nearly  the  whole,  or  substitutes  for  the 
whole  exportations  of  the  country. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  larger  portion  of  the  importations 
were  made  at  the  North,  for  the  reason  that  capital,  shipj)ing, 
and  geographical  advantages  are  there  concentrated,  the  desti- 
nation of  those  goods  has  been  largely  in  the  direction  of  the 
sources  of  the  exports  of  the  country.  The  goods  swelling  the 
current  of  manufacture,  that  sets  South  through  ]^ew  Yorl'^  and 
Philadelphia  by  means  of  coasting  tonnage  and  railroads,  helps 
to  cancel  the  large  debt  which  the  North  annuall}^  contracts. 

^The  annual  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  the  year 
1856,  page  101,  gives  the  amount  of  imported  goods  consumed 
in  the  United  States  in  1850  at  $163,186,510,  or  $7.02  per  head 
of  the  whole  p)opulation.  The  distribution  of  that  amount  was  to 

L,the  South,  $43,000,000  ;  West,  35,000,000  ;  North,  $85,180,000. 
In  the  past  year  these  importations  have  risen  to  $317,882,050, 
or  a  consumption  of  $10.59  per  head,  which  would  give,  in  tlie 
same  proportion,  for  Southern  consumption,  $106,000,000 ; 
for  Western,  $63,000,000;  and  for  the  North  and  East, 
$149,000,000.  If,  then,  the  sales  of  domestic  manufactures  to 
the  South  were,  in  1850,  $146,000,000,  according  to  the  data 
furnished  by  the  census,  and  as  we  have  seen  on  other  data,  tlic 
manufacture  at  the  North  has  since  increased  50  per  cent.,  while 
tlie  means  of  the  South  to  pay  have  increased  in  even  a  greater 
ratio,  the  trade  of  1859  would  give  Northern  manufactures 
sold  to  the  South  $240,(100,000  ;  imported  goods  sold  to  the 
South  $106,000,000 ;  brokerage,  interest,  freight,  commissions, 
insurance,  &c,  on  Southern  produce  and  funds  15  per  cent., 
or  $63,000,000.  The  number  of  whites  at  the  South  over  20  .| 
years  of  age  is  about  3,000,000.  It  is  estimated  that  if  50,000 
come  North  every  year,  their  expenditure,  at  $1000  each,  \ 
would  amount  to  $50,000,000,  disbursed  for  Northern  board,  i 


Sout/ieni  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  75 

goods,  fares,  etc.     If  we  then  recur  to  tlie  Suutliern  credits 
given  in  a  preceding  chapter,  the  account  ^vill  stand  thus  : 

Sent  North.  Sent  South. 


Bills  and  raw  materials $262,560,394 

Other  produce 200,000,000 


$462,560,394 


Domestic  goods $240,000,000 

Imported       "     io^),ooo,ooo 

Interest,  brokerage,  &c  . . .  63, 200,000 

Soutluyir  travellers 53,36o,394 

Total $462,560,394 


This  is  the  vast  trade  which  approximates  the  sum  of  tlie 
dealings  between  the  Xorth  and  the  South.  These  transactions 
influence  the  earnings,  more  or  less  direct,  of  every  Northern 
man.  A  portion  of  every  artisan's  work  is  paid  for  by  S<^uth- 
ern  means.  Every  carman  draws  pay,  more  or  less,  from  the 
trade  of  that  section.  The  agents  who  sell  manufactures,  the 
merchants  who  sell  imported  goods,  the  ships  that  carry  them, 
the  builders  of  the  ships,  the  lumbermen  who  furnisli  the  ma- 
terial, aud  all  those  who  supply  means  of  support  to  them  and 
their  families.  The  brokers,  the  dealers  in  Soutliern  produce, 
the  exchange  dealers,  the  bankers,  the  insurance  companies, 
and  all  those  who  are  actively  employed  in  receiving  and  dis- 
tributing Southern  produce,  with  the  long  train  of  persons  who 
furnish  them  with  houses,  clothing,  supplies,  education,  re- 
ligion, amusement,  transportation,  &c.,  are  dependent  upon 
this  active  interchange,  by  which  at  least  one  thousand  mil- 
lions of  dollars  come  and  go  Ijetween  the  North  and  South  in 
a  year.  The  mind  can  with  difficulty  contemplate  the  havoc 
and  misery  that  would  be  caused  on  both  sides  by  the  breaking 
up  and  sundering  of  such  ties,  if  indeed  it  were  jjossible.  If 
we  were  to  penetrate  beyond  a  rupture,  and  imagine  a  peace- 
able separation,  by  which  the  North  and  South  sho\dd  be  sun- 
dered without  hostilities,  we  miglit  contemplate  the  condition 
and  prospects  of  each.  From  what  has  been  detailed  above, 
as  revealed  to  us  from  the  returns  of  the  census,  it  is  (piite  aj)- 
parent  that  the  North,  as  distinguished  fnjm  the  South  and 
AVest,  would  be  alone  permanently  injured.  Its  fortune  de- 
pends upon  manufacturing  and  shij>ping;  but,  as  has  been 
seen,  it  neither  raises  its  own  food  nor  its  own  raw  nuiterial, 
nor  does  it  furnish  freights  for  its  own  shipping.  The  South, 
on  the  other  hand,  raises  a  surplus  of  food,  and  supplies  the 
world  witli  raw  materials.  Lumber,  hides,  cotton,  wo(j1,  in- 
digo— all  that  the  manufacturer  requires — is  within  it.s  own 
circle.     The  requisite  capital  to  put  them  in  action  is  rapidly 


\y 


76  /Southern  Wealth  and  JS^orthern  Profits. 

Taccnmiilating,  and  in  the  long  run  it  would  lose — after  recov- 
ering from  first  disasters — nothing  by  separation.  The  North, 
on  the  other  hand,  will  have  food  and  raw  materials  to  buy  in 
order  to  employ  its  labor;  but  who  will  then  buy  its  goods? 
It  cannot  supply  England  ;  she  makes  the  same  things  cheaper. 
The  West  will  soon  be  able  to  supply  itself.  The  South, 
while  having  the  world  as  an  eager  customer  for  its  raw  prod- 
uce, will  not  want  Northern  goods;  but  she  will  supply  with 
liQi*  surplus  manufactures  the  Central  and  South  American 
countries,  as  now  with  her  flour.  As  the  world  progresses, 
manufacturing  nations  will  deal  less  with  each  other,  because 
they  make  the  same  things.  Their  customers  must  be  tropical 
and  agricultural  communities.  But  if  they  quarrel  with  the 
manners  and  customs  of  those  countries  to  the  extent  of  at- 
tempting to  force  upon  them  a  new  system  of  morality,  their 
piety  will  be  its  own  reward,  and  the  crown  of  commercial 
martyrdom  may  be  mistaken  for  a  zany's  cap. 

There  is  probably  no  wish  on  any  side  to  separate.  Each 
section  is  steadily  growing  in  wealth  and  strength,  and  each 
develops  its  natural  resources  in  the  same  ratio  that  its  popu- 
lation and  capital  increase.  Tliere  is  this  difference  :  both  the 
South  and  West  have  vast  natural  resources  to  be  develoj)ed, 
and  the  time  for  that  development  is  only  retarded  by  the  pres- 
ent profits  that  the  North  derives  from  supplying  each  with 
those  things  that  they  will  soon  cease  to  want.  Tlie  North  has 
no  future  natural  resources.  In  minerals,  both  the  other  sec- 
tions surpass  it.  In  metals,  it  is  comparatively  destitute ;  of 
raw  materials,  it  has  none.  Its  ability  to  feed  itself  is  question- 
able. Its  commerce  is  to  the  whole  country  what  that  of  Hol- 
land once  was  to  the  world,  viz.,  living  on  the  trade  of  other 
people.  Its  manufactures  occupy  the  same  position,  awaiting 
only  the  time  when  the  other  sections  will  do  their  own  work. 
When  that  moment  arrives,  Massachusetts,  which  now  occupies 
the  proudest  rank  in  the  Union,  will  fall  back  upon  her  own 
resources,  and  still  claim  to  be  an  agricultural  state,  since  her 
summer  crop  is  granite  and  her  winter  crop  is  ice.  This  period 
the  North  supinely  permits  a  few  iinscrupulous  politicians, 
clerical  agitators,  and  reprobate  parsons  to  hasten  by  the  mo^t 
wanton  attacks  upon  the  institutions  of  their  best  customers. 
They  are  forcing  the  Northern  Slave  States  to  assume  to  the 
South  the  same  position  that  New  England  held  to  the  South 
on  the  formation  of  the  Union.     They  are  holding  out  to  them 


Sout/ieni  Wealth  and  ^'cw'^/uvvi  Profits.  77 

the  bright  prize  of  becoming  the  iiuuuufivcturcrs,  importers,  and 
carriers  for  the  South,  as  the  North  h\s  been.  They  oifor  them 
this  brilliant  premium  to  cut  their  eoAiection  with  the  Nortli, 
in  order  to  enjoy  those  branches  of  indaistry  in  relation  to  the 
South  which  have  conferred  such  wealth  and  prosperity  upon 
Kew  England  and  the  Middle  States.  /  England  became  rich 
by  the  colonies — repelled  them.  Ilei}  mantle  fell  on  New 
England;  she  has  become  rich,  and  in  her  turn  repels  the 
South  in  favor  of  the  Northern  Slave  ^jtates.  These  latter  sec 
the  prize  falling  to  them,  and  may  bi\come  eager  to  grasp  it 
before  the  North  shall  have  awakened  to  its  danger. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

TONNAGE    AND    KAILROADS. 

The  early  occupation  of  the  Northern  States  being  naviga- 
tion, they  have  pursued  the  art  of  ship-building  until  they  have 
become  models  of  the  world.  In  doing  so  they  have  ac<juired 
large  capital,  and  are  the  owners  of  an  immense  tonnage. 

The  development  of  this  industry  of  tlie  North  American 
colonies,  and  their  trade,  was  probably  the  first  real  opposition 
on  the  ocean  that  tlie  Dutch  received.  So  much  did  it  iiourish 
in  the  17th  century  that.  Sir  Joshua  Childs,  writing  in  1070, 
Btates  that  "  our  American  plantations  employ  nearly  two-thirds 
of  our  English  shipping,  and  thereby  give  constant  subsistence 
to,  it  may  be,  200,000  persons  here  at  home."  In  1G76  Sir 
William  Petty  states  the  shipping  of  the  American  trade  at 
40,000  tons.  100  years  later,  in  1769,  the  vessels  built  in  the 
colonies  were  as  follows : 

Ships  built  in  the  Colonies  in  1*709. 

Squarf'  Sloops  and 

rigged.               sclwoners.  Tonnagt. 

New  Hampsiiire i6  2g  2,452 

Massachusetts 4o  97  8,01  J 

Rhode  Island 8  3i  1,428 

Connecticut 7  43  1,542 

Kew  York 5  i4  955 

New  Jersey i  3  83 

rennsylvuina i4  8  1,469 

Maryland 9  11  i  ,3  <4 

Virf^inia 6  21  ',269 

Nortli  Cnrolitja 3  9  607 

South  Carolina 4  8  789 

Georgia 2  5o 

Total ii3  276  20,001 


78  Southern  WeaVh  and  Northern  Profits. 

i 

The  number  of  tons  buUt  in  the  United  States  in  1820  was 
47,780,  not  a  large  increpse^over  the  business  of  1769,  In  the 
40  years  that  succeeded  1820,  the  tonnage  built  rose  to  583,450 
tons  in  one  year,  step  bj^  step,  with  the  increase  of  cotton.  The 
employment  of  the  colo,nial  sliips,  during  nearly  200  years,  M'as 
lisli  and  slaves, — the  fi'^li  for  the  Catholic  countries  of  Southern 
Europe,  and  the  slaves  for  the  South,  and  the  West  Indies.  In 
all  that  time  the  construction  reached  up  to  20,001,  or  389  sail, 
of  an  average  of  50  tqns  each.  In  1820  the  tonnage  rose  to 
47,780,  for  534  vessels./  or  90  tons  each  ;  in  1855  there  were 
bnilt  2,034  vessels  of  5^3,450  tons,  or  290  tons  average,  show- 
ing the  change  in  construction  from  the  small  cheap  vessels 
built  for  the  West  India  trade,  to  the  large  ships  required  for 
cotton  transportation.  The  fisheries  were  the  chief  business  of 
the  ISTorthern  colonists,  and  they  had  not  only  the  benefit  of  the 
large"  sale  to  the  AVest  Indies  and  to  the  Catholic  countries  of 
Europe,  but  the  eating  of  fish  in  England  had,  by  tlie  law  of 
Elizabeth,  in  1563,  been  ordered  on  Wednesdays  and  Satur- 
days, for  the  encouragement  of  seamen,  thus  afi'ording  a  large 
market,  from  which  foreign  fish  were  excluded.  The  same  law 
became  a  custom  down  to  our  day,  it  being  still  almost  univer- 
sal in  New  England  to  eat  fish  on  Saturday.  Indeed,  so  strict- 
ly was  this  custom  observed,  that  in  the  old  slave  days  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, it  being  ordered  that  slaves  should  not  be  in  the 
streets  on  Sunday,  a  black  was  arrested  on  the  Common.  He 
denied  that  it  was  Sunday,  and  proved  his  point  by  showing 
that  "  massa  no  hab  salt  fish  yesterday."  With  all  this  en- 
couragement the  tonnage  in  200  years  made  slow  progress, 
until  the  union  of  the  States  and  cotton  growing  began  to  open 
a  broader  field  for  navigation,  and  they  have  since  not  only 
carried  the  large  produce  of  the  South  abroad,  but  have  con- 
veyed it  coastwise.  As  this  business  has  increased,  the  ship- 
building at  the  North  has  followed  its  expansion,  and  it  has 
been  fostered  by  the  bounties  of  the  federal  government,  paid 
to  the  fishermen  of  that  section.  Up  to  1860  these  bounties 
had  reached  nearly  $12,966,998,  paid  out  of  the  national  treas- 
ury to  encourage  shipping  at  the  North. 

The  fisheries  being  the  great  business  of  the  North,  when  the 
Union  was  formed,  a  law  of  July  4,  1789,  alloM^ed  a  drawback 
on  fish  exported  equal  to  the  supposed  quantity  of  salt  used. 
This  law  in  1792  was  changed  to  a  bounty  per  ton  on  the  ves- 


Southern  Wtcdth  and  Xorthern  Projii^.  79 

the  present  time.     The  amount  of  tonnage  and  allowance  paid 
to  the  fishing-vessels  in  the  last  12  yeai*s  was  as  follows : 

Federal  Bounty  to  Fisheries. 

Tonnage  ofvesseU 

engaged  in  AUorcanct  paid  to 

Year.  cod-Jtukeries.  fithing  vetaelt. 

1848 82.652  1=243,434 

1849 73,882  287,604 

i85o 85.646  286,796 

i85i 87,476  328,267 

i832 102,659  304,569 

i853 99.990  323, log 

i854 102,194  374,286 

i855 102.928  346,196 

i856 95;8i6  271.838 

1857 104,573  464,178 

i858 119,254  389,500 

1859 129,637  426,962 

Twelve  years 1,186,717  $4,046,929        ~ 

Thus  in  twelve  years  the  national  treasury  has  paid  out 
$J:,046,929,  as  a  direct  bounty,  to  sustain  one  northern  interest. 
The  whole  amount  paid  has  been  $12,944,998,  and  the  follow- 
ing States  have  been  the  recipients  of  it : 

States  that  receive  the  Federal  Bountij. 

Maine $4,i75.o5o 

New  Hampshire 563, 1 34 

Massaclmsetts 7,926,273 

Connecticut 1 82.853 

Rhode  Island 7S.S95 

New  York 18,319 

Virginia 479 

Total i\ 2,944,998 

Thus  Massachusetts  has  received  two-thirds  of  the  whole 
amount,  for  the  fostering  of  one  of  her  interests.  This  bounty 
is  paid  out  of  the  national  treasury,  into  which  it  is  collected 
from  the  Southern  consumers  of  imported  gof»ds. 

This  has  greatly  aided  the  develo])ment  of  ship-building,  not 
only  in  the  branch  of  the  fisheries,  but  in  all  others,  and  con- 
firmed New  England  in  its  commercial  predominance,  and  we 
shall  see,  as  we  progress,  that  ship-building  has  remained  al- 
most exclusively  with  the  North,  which  owns  about  80  j)cr 
cent,  of  the  present  tonnage. 

"While  they  furnish  the  means  of  transportation,  however, 
they,  as  we  have  seen  in  preceding  chapters,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  fisheries,  furnish  very  little  cm])loyment  for  the 
shipping.  There  is  probably  no  people  in  the  world  who  do  80 
much  freighting,  and  derive  so  little  of  it  from  their  own  re- 
sources.    They,  in  this  respect,  resemble  Holland  in  the  days 


80  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

of  Yan  Tromp,  when  the  inhabitants  of  the  Flemish  marshes 
were,  by  the  carrying  trade  of  the  world,  enabled  to  wear  a 
broom  at  the  mast-head.  If  the  iN'ew  Englanders  have  not 
swept  the  seas  with  their  guns,  they  have  done  so  by  superior 
enterprise,  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  vast  monopoly  conferred 
upon  them  by  the  South.  The  carrying  of  the  cotton  crop  has 
been  the  basis  of  the  Northern  freighting  business,  and  the  na- 
tional tonnage  has  swollen  in  the  following  proportion,  step  by 
step  with  the  cotton  product : 

Tonnage  oioned  and  built  annually  in  the  United  States,  and  the  Cstton^ 
Cro]).  . 

Registered  Cotton  crop.  Vessels 

Year.                Fisheries.  Steam.  and  enrolled.  bales.  built.  Tonnage. 

1820 i58,43o    1,119,736  225,000  534  47,784 

i83o 137,245  64,471  990,260  976,845  637  53,074 

i835 234,437  I22,8i5  i,58o,48i  1,254,328  607  46,238 

1840 233,112  198,184  1,709,318  2,177,885  872  n8,3o9 

1841 229,282  174.342  1,691,0.^2  1,634,945  762  ii8,8o3 

1S42 218,047  228,349  1.612,950  1,638,574  1,021  129,083 

1843 219,192  236,867  i;668,27i  2,378,875  482  63,617 

1844 262.961  272,178  1,707,160  2,o3o,409  766  io3,537 

1845 282,142  325,988  1,769,387  2,394, 5o3  i,o38  146,018 

1846 296,398  347,892  1,885,284  2,100,537  1,420  i88,2o3 

1847 2g5,486  404,841  2,095,236  1.778,651  1.598  243,732 

1848 318,822  427,890  2,261,804  2,347,634  i,85i  3i8,075 

1849 297,010  462,393  2,527,772  2,728,096  1,547  256,577 

i85o 309,773  525,946  2,609.544  2,096,706  i.36o  272,218 

i85i 3i9,658  583,6o7  2,753,182  2,355,237  i;367  298,203 

i852 368,982  643,240  3070,431  3,015,029  1,444  351,493 

i853 342,942  604.617  3,388,637  8,262,882  1,710  425,572 

i854 3i9,i36  676,607  3,747,212  2,980,027  1,774  535,6i6 

i855 811,399  770,285  4,069,162  2,847,889  2,084  583, 45o 

i856 3i5,i62  678,077  8.841.047  8,527.845  1,703  469,893 

1837 328,740  705,784  3,862,812  2,989,519  1,434  878.804 

i858 339,082  729,390  3,988,438  8.118.962  1.225  242.286 

1859 847,646  768,762  8,977.970  8,85i,48i  870  136,602 

i860,  est 4,000,000  4,800,000  

The  sail  vessels,  under  the  head  of  "enrolled,''  as  well  as 
"registered,"  are,  to  a  considerable  extent,  employed  in  the 
transportation  of  cotton.  As  a  general  rule,  a  registered  ton  of 
shipping  will  carry  three  bales  of  cotton.  A  good  deal  of  the 
cotton  is  subject,  however,  to  several  distinct  transportations. 
It  is  delivered  at  the  Southern  ports,  by  steam  and  other  boats, 
lience  sent  to  Korthern  ports,  thence  again  shipped  to  England, 
or  to  manufacturing  towns.  This  movement  so  governs  the 
shipping  trade  that  whenever  the  quantity  of  shipping  has  been 
stimulated  beyond  one  ton  to  a  bale  of  cotton  produced,  in  the 
aggregate,  there  has  been,  invariably,  reaction  and  depression. 
In  1820  the  shipping  was  large,  because  there  was  in  existence 
the  remains  of  the  trade  during  the  French  "Wars,  and  the  ton- 
nage lost,  condemned,  and  sold,  had  not  then  been  fully  mark- 


Sotdhern  Wealth  and  Xorthcrii  Profits.  SI 

ed  oif  from  the  official  registers.  Since  then,  the  account  lias 
been  accurately  kept.  The  quantity  built  was  snuill,  up  to 
1830,  when  the  proportion  of  one  ton  to  a  bale  of  cotton  exist- 
ed. From  1835,  when  the  same  jn-oportion  was  apparent,  there 
was  little  variation  in  the  quantity  built  per  annum,  and  the 
proportion  of  shipping  to  cotton  held  good  up  to  the  large  crop 
of  1843,  which  immediately  gave  an  impulse  to  the  business  of 
ship-building,  and  tonnage  increased  annually  up  to  1840,  when 
the  amount  had  again  reached  the  proportion  of  one  ton  to  a 
bale.  In  that  year,  however,  took  place  the  Irish  famine,  caus- 
ing-a  demand  for  shipping  all  over  the  world,  for  transportation 
of  grain.  This  demand  m-;\s  aided  by  the  Mexican  war,  for 
which  the  government  required  much  transport  service.  The 
ship-building  reached  318,075  tons  in  1848,  in  which  year 
those  two  elements  had  ceased  to  act,  and  there  was  a  heavy 
depression  in  the  trade,  since  the  tonnage  exceeded  the  propor- 
tion of  one  ton  to  a  bale,  in  1850  and  1851.  In  1852  the  pro- 
portion was  recovered,  but  then  took  place  the  revolution  in 
ship-building,  caused  by  California.  Clipper  ships,  became  the 
rage,  and  the  gold  trade  carried  the  tonnage  far  beyond  the 
regular  cotton  proportion.  The  result  was  the  same  as  before ; 
a  terrible  depression  overtook  the  shipping,  and  the  building 
Avhich  had  been  carried  to  its  greatest  height,  in  1855,  when  it 
reached  2,034  vessels,  with  a  tonnage  of  583,450,  has  year  by 
year,  declined.  The  quantity  "  lost,  condemned,  and  sold"  to 
foreigners  has  been  more  than  equal  to  the  production,  and  the 
sail  tonnage  is  now  91,192  tons  less  than  at  its  highest  point, 
in  1855.  The  cotton  crop  has,  he,  4-ever,  increased,  until  it 
has  resumed  its  proportion  of  one  bale  to  the  ton.  Tlicre  can 
be  no  clearer  proof  than  these  figures  afford,  of  the  utter  de- 
pendence of  the  Northern  shipping  upon  the  great  Southern 
staple. 

If  we  turn  to  the  official  tables,  distinguishing  the  three  sec- 
tions, we  shall  have  tlie  ownership  of  the  tonnage  as  follows, 
comparing  the  yeai-s  1830  and  1858,  both  cotton  crop  and  ton- 
nage having  quadrupled  in  that  peri(»d. 


South  

West 

North 

Iieoi»tered. 
..    109,182 
54 
.  .   380.826 

Enrolled. 
Siiil.            .Stffim. 

82,849         33,6o5 

2.090              219 

471,682         20,010 

556,621         54,o36 
6 

ItegiMfrfrl. 
391,518 
'   50.236 

1,781,369 

3,223,133 

Enro 
Sail. 

397,394 

219,416 

1,381,893 

,,898,693 

Utd. 

SUam. 

339,180 

5?» 

Totul. 

..   490,063 

651,36} 

S3  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Projiis. 

It  is  not  only  the  owners  of  that  shipping  that  derive  the 
benefits  of  that  crop,  but  the  builders  and  their  affiliated  trades, 
lumbermen,  riggers,  &c.,  who  reap  the  benefit  of  the  business. 
If  we  turn  to  official  sources,  we  find  that  the  number  and  ton- 
nage built  in  each  section  of  the  Union  has  been  as  follows  : 

Number  of  Vessels  built  in  each  section  of  the  Union,  with  the  aggregate 
tonnage. 


North. 


1§49.  IS55.  t8.56.  l§5y. 


Ships i85  36o  286  228  ii4 

Brills 1 29  120  93  39  36 

Schooners 367  335  819  296  267 

Sloops  and  canal-boats.  3i4  604  4o6  293  220 

Steamers 96  i55  loi  128  102 

Total 

Tons 196,386 

South. 

Ships 

Brigs 

Schooners 

Sloops  and  canal-boats. 
Steamers 

Total 

Tons 


West. 

Ships 

Brigs 

Schooners 

Sloops  and  canal-boats. 
Steamers 


1,090 

1,574 

i,2o5 

983 

739 

96,386 

497,069 

376,647 

294 

,472 

170,570 

12 

18 

16 

20 

2 

14 
223 
46 
61 

6 

54 

■si 

56 
64 

.51 

38 

75 

9 
112 

356 

3o3 

328 

284 

343 

4o,oi5 

■  54,252 

45,538 

47 

,83i 

43,5^' 

5 
33 
10 

52 

3 

76 
27 
44 

4 
92 
11 

3 
2 
69 

1 

4 

I 

52 

33 
5i 

Total loi  i5o  190  i53  141 

Tons 20,176  32,129  47,208  o6,5oi  29,140 

Total 256,577  583,85o  469,393  378,804  242,286 

■  ■  The  building  of  ships  and  brigs  is  confined  almost  entirely 
to  New  England,  with  the  exception  of  those  that  are  built  in 
Maryland.  The  sloops  and  canal-boats  of  Southern  construction 
are  nearly  all  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  The  construction  of 
shipping  at  the  West  has  hitherto  concerned  river  and  lake 
navigation  only,  but  of  late  some  sea-going  vessels  have  been 
^there  built.  Flat-bottomed  vessels  have  been  built  in  Chicago 
for  the  Sea  of  Azoff ;  that  trade  is,  however,  comparatively  un- 
important. With  every  impulse  given  to  ship-building,  it  is 
the  North  which  has  derived  the  benefit.  In  the  town  of  Med- 
ford,  in  Massachusetts,  from  1803  to  184G,  inclusive,  the  whole 
number  of  vessels  there  built  was  382,  which,  at  a  valuation  of 
$45  per  ton  for  hull,  spars,  and  blocks  (which  items  constituted 
the  original  terms  of  contract),  amounted  to  $5,995,035 — the 


Southern  WiaJth  and  Northern  Proff.f.  S3 

aggregate  tonnage  being  nearly  133,225  tons.  Tlie  greatest 
number  of  ships  constructed  in  one  year  was  in  1845,  wlien 
there  were  thirty,  amounting  in  tonnage  to  9,712  tons,  and  in 
vahie  to  §437,040.  In  the  five  years  preceding  April  1st,  1837, 
sixty  vessels  were  built  at  ]\[edtord,  npon  which  there  were 
employed  two  hnndred  and  thirty-nine  workmen,  and  of  which 
the  measurement  was  twenty-fonr  thousand  one  hundred  and 
ninety-live  tons,  and  the  value  one  million  one  hundred  and 
twelve  thonsand  dollars.  From  April  1st,  1844,  to  April  1st, 
1845,  twenty-fonr  ships  were  launched  in  Medford,  npon  which 
were  employed  two  hnndred  and  fifty  men,  and  whose  aggre- 
gixio  tonnage  was  nine  thonsand  six  hundred  and  sixty  tons, 
ai:d  whose  value  was  half  a  million  of  dollars 

Tlie  valne  of  the  tonnage  bnilt  in  Kew  England  in  1855  was 
820,000,000 ;  in  the  South,  $1,160,000  ;  in  the  West,  $980,000. 
With  the  reaction  of  the  "  clipper"  excitement,  the  New  Eng- 
land shipping  indnstry  fell  to  $6,800,000  in  1858,  and  the  Sonfh 
snfl'ered  some  reaction,  bnt  not  in  proportion.  In  1855,  the 
South  built  11  per  cent,  of  the  tonnage  built  at  the  North ;  in 
1858,  25  per  cent.  Tlie  demand  in  that  section  for  steamei-s 
and  schooners  in  the  coasting  trade  was  snpplied  at,  home. 
The  cotton  crop  requires  an  ever-increasing  snpply,  in  spite  of 
the  railroads.  At  the  West,  the  falling  off  in  the  European 
demand  for  breadstuffs  at  the  time  of  great  develoj^ment  in 
railroads,  evid*itly  injured  the  schooner-building.  The  fact 
is  apparent,  that  the  Sonth  is  the  only  section  which  main- 
tained its  construction  of  enrolled  tonnage,  and  it  did  so  to 
snpply  the  wants  of  its  gi-eat  staple.  Tlie  supply  of  tonnage  is 
now  very  large,  bnt  an  unprecedented  crop  of  cotton  is  coming 
to  market,  and  more  active  freighting  induced  by  it,  will  again 
give  employment  to  Northern  builders.  Tlic  value  of  the 
4,000,000  sail  tonnage  in  the  Union  is  $160,000,000,  divided 
as  in  the  following  table,  which  also  shows  the  proportion  nf 
freight  furnished  by  each  section. 

ReglKtered  Ejrient  of  freight* 

Ton».  Valu«o/»hipping.  /urnUhed. 

North i,78i,368                 73,145,879  2,000,000 

Sonth 3oi,5i8                  17,618,111  24,5oo,ooo 

West ;)o,236                    2,360,620  i,5oo,ooo 

Total 2,223,122  $93,024,700  ?28,0O0,O00 

Tlie  Sonth  furnishes  six-sevenths  of  the  freight,  but  owns  less 
than  one-sixth  of  the  tonnage.     Tlie  North  owns  80  per  cent. 


84  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

of  the  tonnage,  and  supplies  T  per  cent,  of  the  freights.  Tlie 
yalne  of  these  freights  is  given  much  less  than  the  actual 
amount.  Thus,  the  cotton  crop  of  the  present  year  -will  reach 
2,070,000,000  lbs.,  and  the  present  rate  of  freight  is  one  cent 
per  pound,  or  10  per  cent,  of  the  value ;  this  gives  nearly 
$21,000,000  freights  for  one  transportation  of  the  crop,  and  it 
requires  several.  The  other  articles  of  export  bear  a  similar 
freight  of  the  registered  tonnage  at  the  North.  !New  York 
city  holds  one-half  of  the  outward  freights  from  New  York. 
A  large  portion  of  that  put  down  to  the  West  is  supplanted  by 
Southern  produce  received  coastwise,  and  it  could  not  other- 
wise be  spared  from  Northern  consumption.  These  are  the 
outward  freights  only.  The  return  freights  into  the  country 
are  also,  to  a  considerable  extent,  on  Southern  account.  At  the  • 
same  rate  per  cent,  on  the  value  as  that  paid  by  cotton,  the 
amount  derived  on  the  importations  is  $35,000,000  per  annum, 
of  which  pro  rata  $12,000,000  is  paid  by  Southern  consumers. 
We  have,  then,  $36,000,000  paid  by  the  South  to  the  shipping 
J  per  annum,  or  a  sum  double  the  value  of  all  the  tonnage  she 
owns,  and  this  without  taking  into  account  in  any  degree  the 
coasting  freights.  This  large  sum  is  distributed  among  the 
merchants,  owners,  seamen,  ship -builders,  stevedores,  carmen, 
and  all  their  business  connections,  as  the  value  of  the  Southern 
connection.  That  section  consents  to  the  profits  thus  enjoyed 
by  the  North,  while  she  has  it  in  her  power  to  Withdraw  them 
by  a  resort  to  her  own  forests  and  ship-yards.  The  North  thus 
monopolizes  the  freights,  for  the  reason  that  she  has  hitherto 
been  able  to  furnish  the  cheapest  ships.  The  South  has  no 
doubt,  however,  profited  by  the  cheap  freights.  Had  the  two 
sections  not  been  united  by  the  bond  of  free  trade,  a  very  little 
legislation  would  have  caused  ship-building  to  grow  faster  at  • 
the  South  than  it  has  hitherto.  Tlie  evils  of  disunion  would 
be  not  unconnected  with  some  benefit  for  the  Maryland  and 
Delaware  ship-builders  in  this  respect.  The  coasting  tonnage 
is  supported  in  nearly  the  same  manner  as  the  registered  ton- 
nage, and  it  is  the  North  that  draws  tlie  benefit. 

The  ofiicial  Treasury  returns  give  the  tonnage  built  in  1850 
at  272,218.  The  census  returns  give  the  distribution  of  the 
labor  as  follows  for  that  year  : 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  85 


Shii)-hidlding  in  i/ic  United  Statc.f,  jKr  Census. 

OoKtof  Co»t  Valutqf 

2To.  Capital.        materUiU.      Hands.       ofUtbor.  product. 

Connecticut 42  $289,400  $2o5,6oo  707  ^SiS.^U  l^ii.i\o 

Muine 172  887,886  981,750  2.o54  988,752  2.i/.6.:»8o 

MHssachusetts 140  655,900  1,282,61^0  1.835  1,028.904  2,7ii,.S85 

New  Hampshire 5  29,800  574,833  349  187, 160  -liri.Mio 

Vermont'. i  i5o,ooo  60,000  100  36,720  120,000 

Kliode  Ishind 6  4i,4oo  43, 082  ii5  •     5i,i8o  117,730 

New  York I25  i,5i3,ooo  2,625,162  3,478  1,745,160  6,i5o,i85 

New  Jersey 27  91.310  65.497  i55  65,796  171,900 

i'eniisylvunia. 192  478,253  574,963  i,5o7  585,636  1,424.909 

North 7*10      4.136,949      6,413,599       io,3oo      4,9i5,j52       i4,3o4,779 

Illinois I  100  25o  4  ',920  2.f)00 

Indiana 18  Si.gSo  57,597  i57  55,i52  i53.363 

Michigan i  200  80  3  900  1,210 

Ohio 17  1 55,200  74,018  292  106, 3o8  209.360 

West 37  236,35o  i3i,943  456  164,280  366,533 

Delaware 7  70,400  42,435  i35  54.5i6  124,0'io 

Dist.  of  Columbia 2  7J700  12,000  33  7,800  25,o(>o 

Florida 4  10,200           40  16,476  17,700 

Georjria 2  5,5oo  i  ,697  1 1  4,776  8.000 

Kentucky 7  25.5oo  8«,4oo  122  63.36o  182.900 

Louisiana 7  167,500  107,361  129  100,620  231,701 

Maryland 68  210,820  344,583  920  4i3,i6o  1,061. 23o 

Missouri 4  i26,i5o  42,625  68  61, 344  i8i.7:'>o 

North  Carolina 8  77,95o  43,qoo  i44  87,140  9^,000 

Tennessee i  5oo  2,«oo  9  4.32o  3,400 

Texas 3  3,ooo  2.720  8  4,320  14. ''oo 

Virginia 32  102,700  59,286  289  72,192  132,020 

South i45         808,660         740,857         1,867         843,o44        1,924,371 

Total 892      5,182,309      7,286,401       12,623      5,922,576      16,595,683 

The  Bliip-building  interest  of  the  South  far  exceeds  that  at 
the  West,  according  to  this  return,  which  corresponds  pretty 
nearly  with  the  return  of  tons  built  in  the  above  table  from 
the  annual  navigation  returns  of  the  Treasurer's  department. 
There  arc  at  the  North,  it  appears,  10,300  hands  cinph)yed 
directly  in  ship-building;  and  as  a  curious  incident  of  the  grow- 
ing availability  of  female  labor,  Vermont  returns  four  fenuiles 
engaged  in  ship-building,  and  Virginia  reports  two  so  employed. 
The  10,300  hands  of  the  North  receive  nearly  5  millions  per 
annum  wages,  or  an  average  of  $500  each.  The  material  c<»sts 
$6,413,()99,  and  is  purchased  of  the  27,000  persons  who,  at 
the  Nortii,  are  engaged  in  getting  out  §31,897,000  worth  of 
lumber  per  annum.  That  is,  the  ship-builders  take  one-tifth  of 
their  product  in  order  to  build  ships  to  carry  cotton.  The 
South  has  become  ambitious  of  carrying  its  own  produce, 
and,  as  seen  in  the  returns,  it  has  145  establishments  f«»r  ship 
construction.  These  turned  out  43,000  tons,  at  a  value  of 
$2,000,000 ;  and  the  lumber  resources  of  Florida  and  Georgia 


86  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

are  at  hand  to  give  tlie  business  an  immense  developiTient, 
under  the  action  of  the  growing  capital  of  the  Sonth. 

Tlie  growth  of  steam  tonnage  on  the  Western  and  Southern 
rivers  has  been  large;  but  this,  as  well  as  the  sail  tonnage,  has 
been  much  affected  by  the  influence  of  railroads,  which  has 
directed  much  produce  from  the  water-carriage,  changing  the 
direction,  in  many  cases,  from  down  stream  to  across  the 
countr}',  thus  influencing  the  jN'orthern  roads  in  favor  of  the 
Southern  exports.  The  sugar,  cotton,  and  tobacco  of  the  South 
finds  its  way,  to  a  considerable  extent,  across  the  country  into 
the  Western  States ;  and  these  roads  have  been  built  in  the 
western  section,  to  a  very  large  extent,  with  borrowed  money. 
They  have  consequently  been  expensively  built — ^far  more  so 
than  those  which  have  been  built  at  the  South.  The  aggregate 
length  and  cost  of  railroads  lias  been,  at  two  periods,  as  follows : 

, 1S53. .  . 1S60 . 

Length.               Cost.  Length.                   CoKt.          Per  mile. 

North 7,222      $287,691,587  9,665         §481,874,434      §5o,ooo 

West 5,535        110,389,337  9,191            365,109,701        40.06O 

Soutli 4,663          91,522,204  9,o53           221,857, 5o3        24,100 

Total 17,420      ^489,603,120  27,909      §1,068,84 1, 63S 

These  returns,  for  1854,  are  from  the  census  returns,  and 
those  for  1860  are  from  the  Boston  Bailway  Times,  compiled 
by  an  eminent  engineer.  We  have  then  the  fact  that  the  Soutli 
has  as  many  miles  of  railroad  as  either  of  the  other  sections, 
and  that  they  cost  per  mile  less  than  half  the  cost  of  the  ]S"oi'th- 
ern  roads,  and  two-thirds  the  expense  of  the  Western  roads, 
a  fact  which  shows  the  economy  with  which  the  Southern 
roads  were  built.  We  now  take  from  Stow^s  Baihoay  An- 
nual the  railroads  delinquent  on  the  interest  of  the  bonds : 

Amount. 

South 3  companies.  §2,023,000 

North 9  "  39,000,000 

West 21  "  68, 1 20,000 

Total 33  companies.  §109,215,000 

The  business  of  the  South  has,  it  appears,  paid  the  cost  of 
9,053  miles  of  railroad,  where  the  ISTorth  has  been  unable  to  do 
so,  and  the  West  has  shown  still  less  ability  to  sustain  that 
length  of  road.  The  capital  supplied  to  the  latter  section  for 
construction  of  the  roads  came  from  England  and  the  East, 
and  was  expended  in  a  lavish  manner,  stimulating  business 
and  speculation,  which  has  fallen  through,  leaving  a  disastrous 
condition  of  affairs  in  all  that  region.  The  railroads  themselves 
show,  in  the'declining  revenues,  the  fact  that  they  owed  their 


Southern  Wealth  and  Xortheni  Profits. 


87 


former  prosperity  less  to  the  cliects  of  free  labor  than  to  tlio 
factitious  activity  caused  by  a  passini;  speculation.  The  crops 
of  that  region  are  not,  like  those  of  the  South,  in  constant  and 
active  demand,  pressing  always  by  the  shortest  road  to  nnirket, 
Tliey  depend  for  realization  npon  short  crops  abroad.  In  ordi- 
nary seasons  the  price  will  not  pay  for  transportation  by  rail, 
while  the  Sonth  becomes  an  active  competitor  with  the  "West 
for  the  supply  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  by  water. 

In  illustration  of  the  great  progress  which  the  South  has 
made  in  the  means  of  transportation  afforded  by  railroads,  we 
take  the  following  from  the  most  accurate  sources: 


Kailkoads  of  tue  United  STATts. — Southe 


Length. 

2rt 

3Sr 

30 


Annapolis  and  Elkridgc 

Baltimore  and  Ohio 

Baltimore  and  Pliila.  Central.. 
Ctiainbersburg    and    Uagers- 


Ciimberland    Coal    and    Iron, 

Eckhardt 11 

Cumberland  ami  Pennsylvania  23 

Georijc's  Creek  Coal  and  Iron .  21 

Nortliern  Centr.il 142 

Philadeln'iia,  Wilmington,  and 

Baltinior.- 102 

Western  Maryland U 

Sundry  coa!  railroiuls 40 


Coit. 

$462,000 

24,S0i.C4o 

1,650,000 

395,000 

500,000 

S00,000 

600,000 

7,238,541 

6,r)6S,36a 
300,0(10 
600,000 


Ltvgth. 
2-2 


Toul  Maryland 7S9    |46,1 1 6,555 


Alcxnnd ,  Loudim.  and  Ilamp- 
sliire 

Clover  Hill,  coal 

Xlana^i.'ias  Can •. 

Norfolk  and  Pel.Msbnrg 

Nortbwe-stern  Vir^'iniii 

Oranse  and  Alexandria 

Fredericksburg  and  Gordons- 
villa 

Petersburg  and  Lyncliburg  . . 

Petersburg  and  Koanoko 

Biclimcmd  and  Danville 

Eiohmond,  Fredericksb'g.  and 
IVitomac 

Ricbiiion.l  and  IVtersliirjr 

Kiclimorid  and  York  Uivcr  .. 

Seaboard  and  lioannkc 

Virginia  Central 

Virginia  and  Tcniie&'ee 

Winchester  and  I'oloniac 

Washini.'ton  and  Ab-Xandria.. 

Bundry  coal  raiiroa<U  


|5On.6S0 
299,999 
2,>'43,4()3 
1.45.3.723 
5,!»2S,754 
3,010,399 

231,573 
8,78G,3S7 
1,204,115 
3,487,584 

1,817.179 

1,20.5,41 1 

393.272 

1.46.',SiM) 

7..M7,7CS 

6.765.155 

57.\4S5 

150,iM  0 

3011,000 


King's  Mountain 

Laurens 

Norllieaslern 102 

South  Carolina 242 

Spartanburg  and  Union 25 

ToUl  South  Carolina  ....  77S 

Atlanta  and  La  Grange S6 

AuL-usla  and  Savannah 53 

Barnesviile  and  Tiiomaston  ..  16 

Brun.swick  and  Florida 31 

Central  of  Georgia 191 

Etowah 9 

Georgia 232 

Macon  and  Western lo2 

Main    Trunk    (Atlantic    and 

Gulf) 4 

Milleilsrevilie  and  Gonlon 17 

Milledgeville  and  Eatonton  ..  22 

Muscogee 50 

l;<ime  and  Kingston 20 

Savannah,  Albany,  and  Gulf. .  68 

Southwestern  . . .' 137 

Western  and  Atlantic 13S 


Colt. 

196,M0 

2l:{.47« 

1.907,271 

7.5^3,0:35 

1,000,000 


$1,171,708 

l,t«0,IOO 

2iHi,0tlO 

MS,  649 

3,750.000 

112,500 

4,1 74,49  i 

1,500,000 

68,787 

2I2.5(»0 

27.J.0OO 

931.21.1 

2.V),(H)0 

1.151,750 

3,031.839 

5,901,497 


Total  Georgia 1176    ♦•24,297,713 


$2,.'>oo.noo 
450,000 


Florida 104 

Florida  an<l  Alabama 25 

Florida.    Ailantic,    and    Gulf 

Central 15 

Pcnsatola  and  Georgia 29 

Tallahassee 21 


Total  Florida 


198 


Alabama  and  Florida 48 

Alabama  and  Mississippi  Uiv- 


Total  Virginia 1410    $12,070,674    Alabama  and  Tennessee  Ulv 


At'antio  and  North  Carolina. .  95 

No:ih  Carolina 223 

Bal- gh  and  Gaston 97 

Roanoke  Valley 22 

West.rn,  coal 43 

"Wiliiiini.'ton  ami  Mancbe.-ter.  161 

Wilmington  and  Wcldon  ....  102 

ToUl  North  Carolina ....  8u3 

Blueliidge 13 

Chark-toii  and  Savannah 29 

Charlotte  and  South  (;orolina.  109 

Cberanr  and  Darlington 40 

Greenville  and  Columbia 16-1 


ers  . 


$1,8011.0)10 
4.23.'S,0ii0 
1,240.271 
45<l,073 
1S.IW7 
2  379,108 
2.776,404 


Marlon 14 

Mobile  and  Olrard 37 

Mobile  and  Onio 324 

Montcmnery  and  West  Point.  117 
Northeast  and  Southwest  Ala- 
bama   2S 

Tonncasco  and  Ala. Central...  26 


800,000 
425.000 

$4,675,000 

$1,000,000 

600,000 

2,890.717 
280.000 
l..V«0.000 
12,.VM),<W0 
2.S22,97» 


$12,899,423  Total  Alabama  . 


$1,720.0-2.3    Delaware 

l,onO,(MHi    Newcastle  and  Frcnrbtown  . 
1.719,045    Newcastle  and  Wlimington 

OUU.OUU  ; 
2,437,461  Tot»l  Delaware 


735  $rA;»62,033 

71  $1,146.^10 

16  -\\,XA 

4  93,00« 

91  $1,98V,««& 


88 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


Length,  Cost. 

Grand  Gulf  and  Port  Gibson.        8  $200,000 

Mississippi  Central 122  3,583,298 

Raymond 1  95,000 

Southern   Mississippi S3  3,500,000 

West  Feliciana 26  620,000 


Total  Mississippi. 


246      $T,99S,298 


Baton    Riinge.    Grosse    Tete, 

and  Cipelinisas 

Clinton  :ind  Port  Hudson 

Mexican  (rulf 

Milnesbui-^'    and   Lake    Pon- 

cliartrain 

New  Orleans  and  CarroUton. 
New    Orleans.   Jackson,   and 

Great  Northern 

New  Orleans,  Opelousas,  and 

Great  Western 

Ticksburg,    Shreveport,    and 

Te-xas 

Total  Louisiana 


Cairo  and  Fulton 

Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph 

North  Missouri 

Pacific 

Southwestern  branch 

8t  Louis  and  Iron  Mountain. 


Total  Missouri. 


Central  Southern 

Cleveland  and  Chattanooga.. 
Edgefield  and  Kentucky 


$22.'),000 
T50,6G6 
662,911 

212,398 
497,220 

7,142,503 

3,877,525 

929,418 

$14,297,801 


11  $210,000 

162  8,.')33,22S 
107  5,473.914 

163  10,64-3,696 
19  967,962 
84  5,042,060 

547  $30,871,360 

4S  $300,000 

30  867,210 

30  750,000 


LfTiffth.     Cost. 

East  Tennessee  and  Georgia.. 

110 

2,931,643 

East  Tennessee  and  Virginia. 

130 

3.208,133 

Memphis  and  Charleston 

287 

6,024,642 

Meni|ihis  and  Ohio 

SI 

2,500,000 

Memphis,  Clarksv'le,&  Louis- 

ville 

73 

195,864 

ML-isi'Sippi  and  Central  Ten- 

nessee   

55 

1,294,275 

Mississippi  and  Tennessee... 

60 

1,338,289 

MoMinnville  and  Manchester 

Nashville  and  Cliattanoosa. .. 

84 

558.959 

Slielbvville  branch 

159 

4,468,907 

Na.shville  and  Northwestern.. 

172 

600,000 

Tennessee  and  Alabama 

43 

1,0(10.000 

Winchester  and  Alabama.... 

15 

300.000 

Total  Tennessee 

1137 

$■26,337,427 

Breckenridge,  coal 

8 

$312,000 

Covington  and  Lexington 

80 

4,13.5,971 

Lexington  and  Big  Sandy.... 

17 

694,024 

Lexington  and  Danville 

13 

824.483 

Lexington  and  Frankfort 

29 

658,256 

Luuisvllle  and  Frankfort 

65 

1,379,345 

Louisville  and  Nashville,  and 

Lebanon  branch 

137 

8,834,980 

Maysville  and  Lexington 

18 

57.\000 

Paducah  and  Mobile 

26 

800,000 

Portland  and  Louisville 

5 

100,000 

Total  Kentucky 

399 

$13,314,059 

Texas 

205 

$5,000,000 

Arkansas 

38 

1,093,161 

Total  South 8171  $221,857,503 


Northern  and  Weitern. 


States,  etc. 


Length. 


Maine 486.2 

New  Hampshire 653.0 

Vermont 5.i7.6 

Ma,ssachusetts 1327.8 

Khode  Island 101.1 

Connecticut 601.8 

New  York 2726.2 

New  Jersey 5.53.6 

Pennsylvania 2678.1 

S0S5 


Cost. 

$19,315. 
19,087 
21.23.5, 
63,691, 
2,750, 
2.\098, 

1.35,314 
24,SS6. 

140,570, 


t'^tates,  etc. 

Ohio 

Michigan  .... 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Wisconsin  — 

Iowa 

Minnesota 


Length. 

Cost. 

2978 

$124,r21,055 

777 

36,862.813 

19.39 

31.f,'65,603 

2774 

94,338,008 

837 

500,000 

843 

11,260,169 

105 

500,000 

N.  Interior  States 10,706  $298,837,647 

Total 27,562  $972,644,560 


If  the  Soiitli  lias  not  built  as  mucli  tonnage  as  it  required  for 
its  business,  allowing  the  North  to  cany  its  produce,  it  has  not 
been  behind  in  the  building  of  railroads.  It  has  built  them, 
however,  with  its  own  capital.  The  effect  of  this  large  con- 
struction at  the  South  was  to  absorb  the  capital  which,  earned 
by  cotton,  had  of  late  accumulated,  and  prevent  it  from  going 
more  into  manufacturing.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  South 
built  more  miles  of  railroads  in  the  six  years  to  1860  than  did 
the  West,  but  they  did  not  exhaust  their  means  in  so  doing. 
The  West  is  prostrate  under  the  effort,  while  the  South  was 
never  more  solid.  It  has  now  before  it  the  roads  to  assist  in  an 
active  development  of  other  interests  imder  the  influence  of  the 
cotton  proceeds.  .    • 


Southern  Wealth  and  Kortha^n  Profits.  89 


CHAPTER  Vn. 


Banking,  in  its  legitimate  commercial  character,  is  confined 
to  the  utilizing  of  funds,  which,  -without  its  intervention,  ■would 
for  a  certain  time  remain  idle  in  the  hands  of  merchants  and 
dealers.  Thus,  if  we  suppose  a  certain  number  of  persons  be- 
ing possessed  of  means,  buy  a  quantity  of  goods  to  sell  again, 
they  will  immediately  be  in  the  receipt  of  money  from  the  sales 
of  a  portion  of  their  goods.  "What  each  thus  receives  he  would 
keep  by  him  until  it  became  necessary  again  to  purchase.  In 
this  manner,  the  aggregate  amount  lying  idle  in  the  hands  of 
all,  would  be  very  large.  Tlie  contrivance  of  a  common  depos- 
itory, called  a  bank,  for  all  those  funds,  was  obviously  a  great 
invention.  The  ability  to  loan  the  money  thus  collected  to 
each  dealer,  at  the  time  of  making  his  purchases,  in  proportion 
to  his  wants,  greatly  facilitated  business,  and  virtually  increased 
the  capital  necessary  to  its  conduct.  As  long  as  the  business 
could  be  confined  to  the  simple  transactions  of  those  actually 
engaged  in  trade,  it  was  eminently  safe  and  useful.  The  money 
loaned  to  each  merchant  began  immediately  to  be  replaced  by 
his  deposits,  and  there  was  no  danger  that  a  demand  would 
ever  spring  up  except  for  the  regular  known  purjjose  of  busi- 
ness. The  notes  on  which  the  loans  were  made  were  all  repre- 
sented by  goods.  The  moment,  however,  that  these  funds,  that 
are  supplied  by  trade,  begin  to  be  diverted  to  purposes  of 
S{)eculation,  stock  loans,  &c.,  transactiitns  which  represent 
only  an  inuiginary  future  value,  the  foundation  of  disaster  is 
laid.  In  agricultural  regions  the  course  of  banking  is  different. 
The  agriculturists,  who  create  the  real  wealth  of  the  country,  -^ 
are  not  in  tlie  daily  receipt  of  money.  Their  j>roducc  is  ready 
but  once  in  the  year,  whereas  they  buy  supplies  the  year  round, 
of  stores,  and  when  the  crop  is  ready  it  is  turned  into  the  stores 
or  factories,  or  sold  to  dealers.  Tlie  produce  itself,  after  suj)- 
plying  the  local  wants,  leaves  a  surplus,  which  seeks  a  distant 
market,  and  becomes  the  mediimi  by  which  alone  all  the  goods 
imported  into  the  country  or  section  can  be  i>aid  for.  Tho 
storekeeper  of  every  town  has  purchased  goods,  generall}-  on 


90  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

credit,  and  lias  sold  them  to  those  who  raise  the  produce  ;  when 
the  latter  is  ready  it  mnst  go  forward  to  cancel  the  debt.  To 
effect  this  exchange  money  is  required.  Usually  the  dealer  in 
produce — possibly  flour — will  make  a  draft  on  New  York  at 
60  to  90  days.  For  this  the  local  bank  gives  him  bank-notes : 
with  these  the  grain  is  purchased,  floured,  sent  to  New  York, 
sold,  and  the  proceeds  lodged  in  a  New  York  bank  to  meet  the 
draft  coming  on  for  payment.  In  the  mean  time,  the  farmer 
who  received  the  notes  for  grain  paid  them  to  the  store  in  set- 
tlement of  his  bill  for  supplies.  The  storekeeper  having  his 
payments  maturing  for  the  goods,  buys  of  the  local  bank  the 
draft  on  New  York  at  60  to  90  days,  forwards  it  to  his  creditor 
in  discharge  of  his  account.  In  all  this  operation  the  produce 
flnds  a  market,  and  the  goods  consumed  by  the  growers  have 
been  paid  for,  and  all  the  paper  created  to  efiect  the  exchange 
has  been  cancelled.  This  operation  is,  at  times,  disturbed  by 
speculation,  as  in  1856,  '57.  Some  of  the  Western  merchants, 
/  when  they  received  money,  spent  it  for  wild  lands,  and  asked 
the  New  York  creditor  to  wait.  Formerly  the  New  York  mer- 
chants would  take  notes  for  goods,  payable  at  the  local  banks, 
because  they  thought  the  country  dealer  would  pay  promptly 
to  keep  his  credit  good  at  home. .  It  was  found,  however,  that 
when  the  note  fell  due  the  payer  would  meet  it  by  an  accom- 
modation note  discount,  which,  although  it  made  the  payment 
good  for  the  New  Y'ork  merchant,  still  left  due  from  the  coun- 
try bank  to  the  city  bank  a  balance,  which  was  not  always  paid. 
The  rule  was  then  notes  payable  in  the  city — the  result  of  this  is 
to  force  all  financial  currents  towards  the  general  centre.  All 
the  paper,  foreign  and  domestic,  growing  out  of  the  crops,  to 
the  value  of  a1  least  $1,000,000,000  per  annum,  draws  directly 
or  indirectly  upon  New  York,  and,  as  a  consequence,  funds 
tend  in  the  same  direction  to  meet  the  paper.  The  cotton  crop 
alone  is  the  basis  of  at  least  $500,000,000,  foreign  and  domes- 
tic bills,  operated  upon  in  New  Y^ork.  A  very  large  portion  of 
the  cotton  is  shipped  from  the  South,  but  it  is  sold  in  New 
York,  in  tj'ansitu,  and  the  bills  are  negotiated  in  New  Y'ork, 
for  the  reason  that  the  larger  proportion  of  goods  are  there  im- 
ported, and  under  the  p;-esent  exchange  system  the  demand  is 
there  for  bills.  In  1859  the  whole  importation  of  goods  into 
the  country  was  $338,768,130  ;  of  this  $229,181,349  was  at  the 
port  of  New  Y^ork.  That  is  to  say,  of  the  $350,000,000  worth 
of  foreign  bill^  drawn  against  produce  shipped,  a  demand  for 


y 


Souf/urn  Wialf/i  ami  J^\»'t/u'rfi  Profits.  01 

$220,000,000  existed   from    the  Xew  York  importerH.      The 
market  for  bills  grows  out  of  that  fact. 

The  whole  banking  system  of  the  country  is  based  prinuirily    y 
on  this  bill  movement  against  produce.     As  the  railways  all  ^ 
tend  towards  Kew  York,  so  do  all  financial  transactions  iblhiw 
the  same  direction. 

The  concentration  of  capital  at  New  York  promotes  its  own 
development,  or  "  makes  the  meat  it  feeds  on."  The  manufac- 
turers of  Europe,  and  of  the  East,  and  the  agriculturists  of  the 
West  and  the  South,  all  send  their  capital  to  New  York  on 
credit,  and,  singularly  enough,  to  obtain  credit.  All  Europe 
contributes  to  her  apparent  capital,  and  swells  the  deposits  in 
her  banks.  The  process  is  a  ver}'  simple  one.  The  European 
manufacturer  ships  to  a  New  York  factor  dry -goods,  consisting 
of  silks,  laces,  &c.  He  is  apprised  that  long  credits  must  be 
given  to  insure  a  sale  of  these  goods,  say  8  to  12  months  from 
day  of  sale.  Tlie  factor  disposes  of  these  goods  to  the  jobber, 
taking  his  paper  in  settlement.  This  paper  is  generally  at  once  , 
placed  on  the  market,  and  sold  at  nuirket  rates  for  money. 
Thus  the  factor  is  at  once  supplied  with  money,  belonging,  in 
fact,  to  his  European  correspondent,  which  he  can  use  in  any 
way  he  thinks  proper,  only  taking  care  to  be  able  to  transmit 
money  to  Europe  at  the  time  that  the  notes  taken  for  the  goods 
fall  due.  The  wholesale  jobber  re})eats  the  same  oj)cration  ia^ 
his  sale  in  like  manner  to  the  wholesale  and  retail  merchant. 
Their  paper  is  at  once  turned  into  cash,  giving  to  the  jobber 
great  appearance  of  strength  at  his  bank,  and  also  a  large  cash 
capital,  to  be  invested  in  stocks,  or  shaving  pai)er,  or  any  other 
manner  fancy  or  judgment  may  dictate.  The  wholesale  mer- 
chant  sells  in  like  maimer  to  country  merchants,  whose  pa})er 
is  also  thrown  on  the  market,  where  it  is  salable.  Thus,  the 
same  article,  sold  successively  on  time,  furnishes  the  appear- 
ance of  real  capital  to  several  different  merchants.  The  same 
operation  is  repeated  in  the  sale  of  the  various  other  articles 
imported  from  Europe  to  this  country.  In  like  manner  the 
manufacturers  of  New  England  furnish  capital  to  New  York.  '*' 
They,  consign  their  manufactures  to  a  New  York  agent,  and 
have  a  time  draft  on  him  discounted  at  their  home  banks.  If 
the  agent  succeeds  in  selling  the  goods  promptly,  he  has  the  use 
of  the  money  till  the  maturity  of  the  draft.  Again,  the  money 
to  buy  this  paper  is  not  by  any  means  contributed  ah>ne  by 
New  York  capitalists.     Some  of  the'banks  of  South  Carolina 


92  Southern  Wealth  and  Xorthern  Profits. 

are  charged  with  buying  up  the  paper  of  Soiitheru  men  through 
their  agents  in  ISTew  York.  Large  amounts  of  capital  are  known 
to  be  sent  on  from  Virginia,  and  other  parts  of  the  South,  for 
the  same  purpose. 

With  the  Southern  banks  a  preference  is  given  to  a  four- 
months'  draft  upon  New  York  to  a  four-months'  note  on  per- 
sonal security.  The  manufacturers  of  tobacco  are  compelled, 
in  order  to  raise  money  to  carry  on  their  business  in  Virginia, 
L-  to  have  a  Northern  correspondent,  upon  whom  they  draw  these 
bills,  and  to  whom  their  tobacco  must  be  consigned.  As  the 
bills  are  drawn  on  the  consignment  of  tobacco,  that  iiiust  go 
forward,  no  matter  what  is  the  state  of  the  market  in  New 
York,  and  no  matter  how  much  depressed  the  article  may  be 
by  reason  of  want  of  demand  or  a  glut  in  the  market. 

When  the  tobacco  arrives  in  New  York,  the  agent  there  sells 
the  tobacco  as  soon  as  he  thinks  proper,  generally  for  an  eight- 
months'  note.     He  immediately  takes  the  note,  places  it  in  the 
hands  of  a  broker,  who  sells  it  at  the  current  rates  for  similar  . 
paper.     The  proceeds,  less  the  commission  and  a  shave,  are  re-"^ 
turned  to  the  agent,  who  uses  it  in  paying  other  acceptances 
falling  due,  it  may  be  to  other  parties,  or  he  applies  the  nionej 
to  purposes  of  private  speculation,  thus  being  supplied  with 
capital  by  the  Virginia  banks.     The  value  of  the  manufactured  "" 
tobacco  is  estimated  at  $15,000,000. 

A  planter  in  the  South  cannot;  borrow  money  from  the  bank  • 
upon  a  pledge  of  his  laud  and  negroes,  or  on  good  personal  se- 
\l  curity,  or  even  upon  a  promise  to  turn  over  to  the  bank  the 
proceeds  of  his  crop  when  sold.  (He  can,  however,  borrow  by 
drawing  on  his  factor,  who  sells  his  cotton.  ^  These  drafts,  from 
the  nature  of  the  case,  fall  clue  during  the  early  part  of  the  crop 
year.  In  like  manner,  the  shipper  of  cotton  to  England  cannot 
obtain  money  except  by  drawing  a  sterling  bill,  which  is  a  bill 
payable  sixty  days  after  sight.  Formerly,  an  advance  to  a 
planter  really  m^eant  M'hat  it  purports  to  be.  Now,  an  advance 
consists  in  the  acceptance  of  a  draft ;  and  if  the  planter's  cot- 
ton is  not  in  time  to  protect  it,  long  and  loud  are  the  complaints 
against  the  dishonesty  of  planters  in  withholding  their  crops  to 
meet  their  just  debts.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  this  mode  of  bank- 
ing aft'ects  the  price  of  cotton,  and  depresses  it  beyond  its  true 
value.  No  one  expects  to  obtain  any  thing  like  full  value  from 
a  sale  by  a  pawnbroker  of  a  watch  pledged  for  a  debt,  even  in 
prosperous  times.     Of  course,  when  times  are  bad,  the  sacrifice 


Sout/i('ni  ^Yealth  and  Xorthirn  Profits.  0.3 

j,reater.     J\\\t  the  Soiitlioni  people  luivo  made  the      / 

movement  of  the  sale  of  cottttii  depeiuleiit,  in  a  i^reat  dej^rec  ' 
upon  the  condition  of  aftairs  in  New  York.  If  there  is  no  de- 
mand for  sterling  bills  in  Xew  York,  caused  either  by  their 
want  of  ability  or  willingness  to  pay  their  debts  to  p]un»pe,  then 
our  Southern  banks  cannot  buy  sterling  bills,  and  the  shipper 
cannot  buy  cotton.  Even  when  cotton  is  bought  and  shipped, 
either  to  Xew  York  or  Europe,  it  becomes  completely  in  the*^ 
power  of  the  buyers  to  control  the  price  of  cotton.  The  banks, 
refusing  to  give  the  acceptor  of  the  bills  any  accommodation, 
necessitates  the  sale  of  the  article  pledged  on  arrival  to  meet 
the  bill  at  maturity.  However  honest  he  ma}'  be,  and  anxious 
to  promote  the  interest  of  the  consignor,  necessity  having  no 
law,  he  is  compelled  to  sell  at  prices  dictated  l)y  the  buyer. 

The  capital  of  all  sections,  in  all  shapes,  is  thus  poured  into 
New  York,  through  the  hands  of  the  bankers,  and  becomes  the 
means  of  floating  a  large  amount  of  securities,  of  all  descrip-  / 
tions.  -The  Southern  produce  which  comes  here  pays  a  large 
protit  to  agents  of  all  kinds,  through  whose  hands  it  passes,  and 
the  goods  which  come  here  are,  to  a  large  aniount,  sold  to  the 
South  on  credit,  on  which  Southern  money  lying  in  New  York 
is  advanced,  to  be  used  in  such  purposes  of  speculation  as  fre-^^ 
quently  bring  on  a  panic,  and  depress  the  price  of  both  bills 
and  cotton.  The  summer  is  the  season  when  the  largest  sup])ly 
of  Southern  funds  becomes  apparent,  and  it  is  then  the  banks 
are  most  anxious  to  make  it  draw  interest.  They  lend  it  upon 
stocks,  and  cause  an  inflation  by  speculators,  who  bid  high  fir 
money.  In  the  fall,  when  those  funds  are  again  wanted  for 
their  legitimate  purposes,  they  cannot  be  recalled  from  specu- 
lation so  readily,  and  the  notes  of  the  mercantile  people  arc 
thrown  out  rather  than  that  the  paying  loans  to  the  speculatoi-s 
should  be  disturbed.  The  pretence  is  that  specie  is  going 
abroad,  and  that  it  is  the  importers  who  send  it.  Their  pajHr 
is  consequently  thrown  out,  preventing  them  from  buying  lulls. 
By  the  same  operation  the  price  of  cotton  is  depressed.  Tiius 
at  the  same  time  the  value  of  bills  drawn  against  cotton  is  de- 
pressed at  the  same  moment  that  the  price  of  the  article  itself 
falls. 

Tlie  financial  system  of  advances  is  one,  no  doubt,  by  which 
the  shippers  of  produce  on  advances  are  yearly  victimized,  llie 
complaints  were  fui-merly  loud  and  long  against  the  "  slaughter- 
ing" of  American  tobacco  and  cotton  in  the  foreign  cities  to 


94  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

which  tliey  were  consigned  on  advances.    Tlie  merchandise  was 


gener 


ally  sold  at  the  most  nnfavorable  moment  and  adverse  cir-' 
cnmstances,  and  not  nnfreqnently  bought  in  at  the  low  figure 
thns  j^roduced  by  the  acceptor,  to  hold  for  his  own  advantage. 
/  This  is  one  of  the  evils  of  a  want  of  capital  in  producing  coun- 
tries. They  are  the  victims  of  the  lenders ;  and  it  is  one  of  the 
means  by  which  the  large  capital  of  England  has  been  increas- 
ed at  the  expense  of  her  colonies,  and  of  the  tropical  countries 
with  which  she  deals.  She  buys  for  cash  and  sells  on  long 
credits,  and  a  large  margin  exists  between  the  two  prices.  Tlie 
operation  of  capital  is  not  different  in  America  from  what  it  is 
elsewhere ;  and  it  is  against  this  operation  that  the  South  is 
required  to  contend. 

In  the  vast  circle  of  the  States  the  1500  corporate  banks,  with 
a  capital  of  8^01,000,000  ;  and  the  800  private  banks,  with  a 
capital  of  $150,000,000,  all  base  their  operations  upon  New 
York  exchange,  and  the  combined  2300  banking  concerns,  op- 
erating on  the  circle,  make  ]S"ew  York  the  focus  of  their  bills. 
To  this  point  comes  all  paper,  sooner  or  later,  for  negotiation, 
and  as  a  consequence,  all  surplus  funds  come  here  for  employ- 
ment. The  banks  and  bankers  of  New  York  encourage  this 
tendency,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  their  united  strength  is  as 
follows : 

Xo.  Capital. 

New  York  corporate  banks 55  §69.333.632 

"  private  "    80  60,000,000 

Total i35  $129,333,632 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  his  report  for  1856,  page 
141,  gave  the  capital  of  tlie  private  banks  in  New  York  City  at 
$41,500,000.  By  addition  of  firms  the  amount  has  since  risen 
to  the  figure  stated.  The  course  of  business  usually  requires 
the  use  of  money  to  purchase  the  crops  in  the  autumn,  and  for 

y  that  purpose  the  distant  banks  discount  or  buy  bills  on  New 
^  York  at  60  to  90  days,  by  which  time  the  produce  will  have 
been  realized,  and  the  amount  applied  to  the  liquidation  of  the 
bill.  It  follows  that  before  much  produce  has  been  sold,  the 
demand  for  money  is  large."  On  the  otlier  hand,  when  the  bulk 
of  the  produce  has  been  sold,  the  realization  is  greater  than  the 

/  demand,  and  money  becomes  plenty.  In  this  operation  the 
Southern  products— cotton,  rice,  and  tobacco— play  the  chief 
part ;  and  the  proceeds  of  these  crops  accumulate  in  New  York, 
as  the  season  advances,  in  the  shape  of  "  balances  due  banks." 


Southern  Wealth  and  JV^ortno-n  Profits.  05 

Tlie  j^uarterly  returns  of  the  Xew  York  banks  Avill  show  the 
course  of  this  movement. 

JVew  Vork  Banks. 

Loans.  Specie.  Deposits.  Due  Bank* 

1857,  July §io3,q54,777  §i4,370,434  ?io4,35o.420  $27,310,817 

"     December...  162,807,376  29,3i3,42i  83,o43,357  21,268,562 

1 858,  March 170,436,240  31,071,074  93,738,878  28,710,077 

"     June 187,468,510  33,597,211  100,762,909  34,290,766 

"     September..  194,734,996  29,905,291  103,481,741  33, 610,448 

"     December...  200,577,108  28,335,984  110,461,798  35,i34,o49 

1859,  June 185,027,449  22,107.782  99,597,772  30,175,320 

"     September..  182,420,134  22.026,137  io3, 106,666  23,992,110 

"     December...  191,596,617  20,921,141  102,109,393  28,807,249 

The  cotton  crop  begins  to  come  forward  in  September,  and 
causes  a  demand  for  money  until  about  GO  days  have  ehij)sed. 
When  the  fii-st  purchases  begin  to  be  reahz;ed,  the  sales  fif 
sterling  bills  on  Southern  bank  account  cause  the  balances  in 
the  New  York  City  banks  to  rise,  as  seen,  December,  1857,  iu 
the  table  of  corporate  banks,  when  they  were  $21,208,562,  and 
continue  to  rise  to  $31r,290,TGr)  in  June,  1858.  In  that  mouth 
the  crop  is  nearly  all  realized,  and  the  bills  sold.  The  idle  bal- 
ances are  then  large.  The  New  York  City  banks,  in  order  to 
increase  these  balances,  allow  an  interest  of  4  per  cent,  on 
them ;  and  they  use  them,  not  in  legitimate  banking,  but  in 
''loans' on  call,"  on  stocks,  and  other  securities,  in  competition 
■with  the  private  bankers,  who  at  that  season  begin  to  su}»ply 
the  market  with  exchange  at  high  rates,  the  supply  against 
cotton  having  run  out.  The  proceeds  of  these  bills  tliey  also 
lend,  and  the  competing  lenders  foster  speculation,  to  be  nipped 
when  the  renewed  demand  for  money  to  move  the  crops  takes 
place.  The  accumulation  of  funds  in  New  York,  and  the  fa- 
cility witli  which  they  are  loaned,  favors  the  negotiation  of 
paper,  and  state,  city,  and  county  bonds  reach  that  point  for 
sale,  and  are  made  payable  there  for  the  same  object.  It  is  ^ 
obvious  that  the  amount  of  "  balances''  in  New  York  to  the  w 
credit  of  the  South  depends  upon  two  circumstances  relatively  : 
first,  the  amount  of  crojjs  to  be  sold;  second,  the  quantity  of 
goods  purchased.  In  1858  the  sales  of  cro[>s  were  large.  The 
cotton  crop  alone  realized  $100,000,000,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  goods  purchased  were  less  than  usual,  it  resulted  that  the 
balances,  after  having  reached  an  unusual  sum  in  June,  went 
South  in  specie.  In  the  past  year  the  imports  of  goods  have 
been  much  larger,  but  the  sales  of  produce  still  greater.  The 
cotton  crop  has  realized  $200,000,000,  and  the  f^liipments  of 


/ 


96  Southern  Wealth  and  NortTiern  Profits. 

coin  to  the  South  were  active.  The  specie  held  by  all  the 
banks  of  the  Union,  and  by  the  Southern  banks,  has  been  as 
follows : 

1857.        1858.        1859.         1S60. 

North $22,853,924  ^26,o65,5o3  S42,o38,635  $40,618,624 

South 35,495,914  48,347,329  62,497,783  48,359,072 

Totfal $58,34g~838  $74,412,832         $io4,5"37,878  $88,97^60 

The  South  never  held  so  large  a  proj^ortion  of  the  aggregate 
specie  before,  and  in  this  respect  it  is  exercising  the  power 
which  proceeds  from  its  large  crop  production. 

The  continued  large  exports  from  the  South,  which  will  be 
larger  this  year  than  ever  before,  exercise  a"  controlling  power 
upon  IN^orthern  funds ;  and  only  a  small  decline  in  the  pur- 
chase of  goods,  or  the  amount  of  expenditure  at  the  North, 
would  produce  a  great  derangement  of  the  present  system. 
The  city  of  E"ew  Orleans  is  the  great  centre  of  exports,  and 
iNTew  York  of  imports.  If  we  compare  the  imports  of  the  one 
and  the  exports  of  the  other,  we  have  results  as  follows : 

Noxo  York  IT.  Orleans        Jieceipts  from 

Year,  imports.  Population.  exportH.  the  interior.    Population. 

1804 10,739,250  60,489  1,392,093            8,o56 

1810 14,198,204  96,373  1,753,974            17,242 

1820 23,629,246  123,706  7,242,4i5            27,176 

i83o 35,624,070  202,589  i3, 042, 740 46,3io 

1840 60,440,750  312,710  30,077,534  43,716,045  102,193 

i85o 111,123,524  5i5,547  38,io5,35o  96,897,873  116,373 

1859 245,i65,5i6  900,000  100,734,952  172,952,664  175,000 


v/ 


These  foreign  exports  from  the  port  of  ITew  Orleans  swell 
with  great  rapidity,  and  they  furnish  the  sterling  bills  against 
40  per  cent,  of  the  imports  into  ISTew  York,  while  the  other 
Southern  ports  give  as  large  a  quota.  Against  those  bills,  as 
we  have  seen,  run  the  large  supply  of  inland  bills.  It  is  now 
obvious  that  if  the  South  is  disposed  to  carry  out  its  determi- 
nation of  reviving  the  old  colonial  non-intercourse  as  a  means 
/'of  redress,  that  an  immense  financial  balance  would  be  thrown 
against  the  North.  It  is  true  that  the  sterling  bills  then  would 
have  but  a  limited  market  in  New  York,  but  what  would  fol- 
low ?  Precisely  what  followed  when  the  panic  produced  the 
result,  that  is  exhibited  in  the  following  table  : 


i855. 
1 856. 

1857. 
i858. 
i85q. 


Raten  of  Sterling 
■llH  in  New  Orleans. 

Bills  on 

Amount 

Xeic  York. 

Imports  of  specie 

in  Panks  of 

Lowest.         Highest. 

Discount. 

at  K.  Orleans. 

N.  Orleans. 

107                  lio'/a 

I       a  23/, 

3,746,037 

8,570,568 

lo63/,              109V4 

I'/i  «  21/2 

4,913,540 
6  5oo.oi5 

8,191,625 

107               no 

I'A  a  2V3 

16,811,162 

91'Ai           109 

I'/j  a  6 

i3, 268,013 

10,370,701 

107V4           no 

iVs  «  2 'A 

15,627,016 

16,218,027 

Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  97 

The  decline  in  the  imports  of  1858,  followini^  the  panic,  had 
an  iniraonse  effect  npon  sterling  bills,  wliich  fell  to  20  i)er  cent, 
below  the  actual  par,  and  hills  on  New  York  to  six  ]»er  cent, 
discount,  and  became  unsalahle  at  any  price.  The  current  of 
specie  went  southward,  broad  and  deep.  That  M-as  ])roduccd 
by  "  non-intercourse"  through  "  panic,"  and  diminished  inter- 
course from  any  other  cause  develops  the  same  power  of  the 
Southern  crops  over  Northern  finances.  The  table  also  dis- 
plays the  growing  power  of  the  Southern  banks  ;  from  an 
amount  of  $1,845,808  in  1848,  of  specie  lield  by  the  banks,  the 
amount  has  risen  to  a  sum  larger  than  it  was  the  custom  of  tiie 
New  York  banks  to  hold  before  the  panic ;  and  the  New  Or- 
leans banks  have  shown  great  prosperity  while  carrying  so 
large  an  amount  of  specie. 

The  exchange  system  of  the  country  favors  this  process  of 
centralization  in  New  York.  The  whole  external  trade  of  the 
country  is  based  upon  buying  bills  for  remittance  abroad, 
while  there  hardly  e;iists  a  market,  in  the  countries  with  which 
we  deal,  for  bills  on  America.  The  produce  of  the  country  is 
shipped  and  drawn  against  sup])lying,  in  round  numbers,  350 
millions  of  exchange.  Nearly  the  whole  of  this  amount  is 
sold  to  banks  and  bankers,  who  hold  it  as  a  sort  of  mono])<)ly, 
awaiting  the  demand  of  merchants  who,  having  iinj^orted 
$330,000,000  worth  of  goods,  nnist  pay  for  them.  There  is 
also  8^0,000,000  to  be  remitted  for  interest  on  debts,  ])ublic 
and  corporate,  and  probably  $30,000,000  more  as  the  expenses 
of  Americans  travelling  abroad.  Now  the  only  mode  for 
making  these  remittances  is  to  buy  bills,  and  the  remitters 
must  pay  the  price  asked.  In  all  the  cities  of  Europe  there  is 
a  variety  of  counter-exchanges,  by  which  the  merchant  may 
arbitrate  his  remittances  as  he  pleases.  If  in  Paris  he  wants 
to  remit  to  London,  he  may  buy  a  bill  on  London,  or  may 
order  his  creditors  in  London  to  draw  on  him  ;  or  he  nuiy  l)uy 
a  bill  on  any  other  city,  to  remit  or  order  a  draft  on  any  other 
city,  to  be  sold.  Tweni^y  combinati.oiis  may  be  calculated,  and 
the  cheapest  acted  upon.  The  Anieiica!i  merchant  has  but 
one  choice.  He  may  give  the  banker  his  price  for  a  bill,  or 
remit  the  coin  himself.  The  effect  of  this  monopoly  of  the  ex- 
change market  by  the  bankers,  aids  tiic  concentration  of  money  . 
in  New  York,  and  in  a  similar  manner  the  internal  exchanges 
are  more  or  less  controlled.  Tlie  rate  is  always  at  a  premiura 
in  New  York,  and  that  frequently  when  New  York  is  in  debt, 
7 


\y 


98  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

the  real  rate  of  exchange  being  disguised  in  depreciation  of 
local  currency.  The  Southern  banks,  having  large  deposits 
in  New  York  drawing  interest,  do  not  sell  exchange  against 
those  funds,  but  in  some  cases  buy  commercial  exchange  lor 
depreciated  notes,  and  then  supply  the  market  only  as  it  will 
bear  a  premium.  If  their  funds  did  not  draw  mtei-est  at  the 
North,  and  their  own  paper  was  payable  on  demand,  actually 
as  well  as  nominally,  the  exchange  rate  would  be  as  often  be- 
low as  above  par.  At  bottom,  the  same  system  exists  as  with 
the  external  exchange,  viz.,  always  to  draw  and  never  to  be 
drawn  upon.  As  we  have  seen  in  a  former  chapter  the  South 
sends  north  per  annum  $522,000,000  in  value,  which  becomes 
the  basis  of  at  least  1000  millions  of  exchange,  which  the  banks 
monopohze  ;  and  the  proceeds  are  the  basis  of  large  moneyed 
operations  at  the  North. 

It  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise,  under  all  these  circumstances, 
/  that  notwithstanding  the  large  production  of  wealth  at  the 
South,  capital  accumulates  there  so  slowly.     All  the  prohtable 
branches  of  freighting,  brokering,  selling,  banking,  insurance, 
&c.,  that  grow  out  of  the  Southern  products,  are  enjoyed  m 
New  York;  and  crowds  of  Southerners  come  north  in  tlie 
summer  to  enjoy  and  spend  their  share  of  the  profits.     Ihe 
profits  that  importers,  manufacturers,  bankers,  factors,  jobbers, 
warehousemen,  carmen,  and  every  branch  of  industry  con- 
nected with  merchandising,  realize  from  the  mass  of  goods 
that  pass  through  the  Northern  cities,  are  paid  by  Sonthern 
consumers.     There  can  then  be  no  matter  of  wonder  tlia^  the 
North  accumulates,  or  that  the  South  does  so  slowly.  _   AVhen, 
however,  people  at  the  North  reproach  the  South  with  these 
advantages,  derived  from  them  as  some  of  the  "blessings  of 
free  labor,"  the  depth  of  ignorance  and  the  sublimity  of  impu- 
■dence  seem  to  have  combined.     Nevertheless  capital  does  ac- 
/   cumulate  at  the  South.     As  we  have  seen,  her  net-work  of 
'     railroads  has  been  built  well,  and  more  economically  than  m 
any  other  section,  and  with  less  foreign  aid.     Tlie  bonds  and 
stocks  are  not  only  better  paid,  but  lield  at  home  ;  and  there 
is  no  more  efiicient  means  of  building  up  local  capital  than  by 
the  operation  of  9000  miles  of  railroad,  with  its  employees,  and 
$200  000  000  of  certificates  of  cost,  all  paid  from  their  tratbc. 
The  Growth  of  manufactures  is  another  efficient  aid  to  accumu- 
lation     If  the  South  has  a  smaller  leak  than  in  the  West  m 
the  matter  of  interest  and  dividends,  it  has  a  larger  one  m  the    | 


Southern  Wealth  and  JVort/iern  Profits.  99 

shape  of  "  absenteeism,"  since  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
annual  profits  are  spent  North  and  in  Europe.  Tlio  sums  so 
expended  wouki,  in  ten  years,  give  her  more  manufacturing 
capital  than  exists  at  the  Xorth,  and  multi})ly  itself  tliereafter 
with  great  rapidity.  That  time  is  approaching,  and  the  faster 
by  reason  of  the  ill  blood  so  wantonly  stirred  up  by  unprin- 
cipled party-leaders  and  their  abolition  coadjutDrs. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

POPULATION. 

In  estimating  the  relative  growth  of  the  three  sections, 
population  and  its  movement  have  a  very  important  influence 
upon  the  result.  The  South  has  depended  only  on  its  own 
natural  increase  of  whites  and.  blacks;  while  the  North  and 
West  have  had  immense  accessions  of  men  and  capital  from 
abroad  to  stimulate  their  industry. 

The  census  returns  of  the  total  white  population,  indicate  the 
fact  that,  including  the  blacks,  the  South  has  multiplied  in 
number  faster  than  the  North,  notwithstanding  that  the  latter 
has  had  the  whole  benefit  of  immigration,  with  all  the  wealth  it 
has  brought  with  it. 

During  the  speculative  years  that  ended,  in  1840,  with  the 
repudiation  of  many  of  the  States,  the  South  received  much 
money,  from  the  North  and  from  Europe,  for  the  establishment 
of  banks,  which  failed,  and  the  money  was  lost.  The  numbers 
of  Southern  population  were  not  increased  by  the  movement. 
The  large  immigration  from  Europe,  on  the  other  hand,  not 
only  increased  the  numbers  of  the  Northern  and  Western 
population,  but  largely  increased  the  wealth  of  those  section.^, 
by  means  of  the  capital  brought  in  by  tlie  immigrants.  Of 
these  latter,  great  numbers  were  mechanics  and  artisans,  who, 
remaining  in  the  Northern  cities,  added  greatly  t(j  the  manu- 
facturing productions. 

The  following  table  comprises  the  aggregate  census  returns 
from  the  formation  of  the  government,  with  the  area  of  each 
State : 


100 


Southern  Wealth  and  Neyrthern  Profits. 


ZTnited  States  Census. 


North. 

Area  in 
sq.mUes. 

1790. 

1800. 

ISIO. 

183©. 

1S30. 

1840. 

1850. 

3i,755 
Q.280 

228,705 

298,335 

399,455 
269,328 

501,793 

284,574 

533,169 
317,976 

NewIIaiupsliirc 

i4i.8qq'  iH3.7.'.2 

2U,36o 

244,161 

Vermont 

10,212 

85,4i(>ji.)4,4(.5 

217,713 

235,764 

280,652 

291.948 

3 14, 1 20 

Massachusetts. . 

7.H00 

378,7.7  423.2 ',5 

472  040 

523,287 

610,408 

737,699 
io8,83o 

994, 5i4 

Ehodc  Ishmd  . . 

i,3o6 

69,110    69,122 

77.03. 

83,059 

97, '99 

147,545 

Connecticut 

4,674 

238, 141,  2 5 1. 002 

262,042 

275,202 

297,673 

309,978 

370,792 
3,097,394 

New  York 

47.000 

340. 1  20I  586,756 

959,049 

1,372,812 

1,918,608 
320,823 

2,428,921 

New  Jersey 

8,320 

184,139!  211,949 

245,555 

277,573 

373,306 

489,555 

Pennsylvania . . 

46,000 

434.373 

602,365 
2,(134,385 

810,091 

1,049,458 

1,348,233 

1,724,033 

2,311,786 

Total  North.. 

1G0,T47 

1,908,455 

.■l,4S'i,49C 

4,839,063 

5,582,383 

6,761,082 

8,620,851 

Soutli. 

Delaware 

2,120 

59,096 

64,273 

72,674 

4J?;]g 

76,748 

78,085 

91,532 

Maryland 

11,124 

319,728 

34 1, ')48|  380.546 

447,040 

470,019 

583,034 

Dist.  ofColunih. 

60 



14,0931    24.023 

33,039 

39.834 

43,7.2 

51,687 

Viri,nnia 

61,352 

748,308 

38o,2oo  974,622 

1,065,379 

1,21 1, 4o5 

1,239,797 

1. 421, 66 1 

North  Carolina. 

5o,7o4 

393,751 

478,103 

555,300 

638,829 

737-987 

753,4.9 

869.039 

South  Carolina, 

29,385 
58  000 

249,o7>3 

345,591 

4i5,ii5 

502.741 

58i,i85 

594,398 

668,507 

82  548 

252  433 

340,987 

5i6  823 

691,392 

54,477 
590,756 

906,185 
87,443 
771,623 

Florida . . 

59^268 
50,722 

' 

34^730 
309,527 

Alabama 

144.317 

Mississippi 

47,i56 



8,85o 

40,352 

75,448 
153,407 

i36;62i 

375,651 

606,526 

Louisiana 

41,255 

76,556 

215,739 

352,411 

517,762 

Texas  . 

2J7,5o4 
52,198 

212,392 

200,807 

Arkansas 

14,273 

3o,388      97,574 

Tennessee 

45,600 

35,701 

io5,6o2 

261,727 

422, 8i3 

681,904!    829.2101,002,717 

Missouri 

67,380 

20,845 

66.586 

i4o,455]    383,702!    682,044 
687,917     779.828     982,405 

Kentucky  

37,680 

73,077 

220,955 

4o6,5ii 

564,317 

Total  South.. 

871,458 

1,961,372  2,C21,30U 

3,480,994 

4,522,224 

5,803,019     8,340,531     9,664,050 

West. 

1 

Ohio  . . 

39,964 
33,800 

45,365 
4,875 

230,760 

24,520 

58 1  434 

937,903 
343,o3i 

1,519,4671,980,329 
685,866'    988,416 
476,183:    85i,470 
212,267]    397,654 

Indiana 

147,178 

Illinois 

55,4o5 

12,282 

55,211 

157,445 

Michiijan 

56,243 



4,762 

8,896 

3 1, 639 

'Wisconsin 

53,024 

30.945I    305,391 

Iowa 

5o,oi4 

43,112 

192,214 

California 

155,980 

92,397 

Minnesota 

166,025 

6,077 

New  Mexico  . .  . 

507,007 

61,547 

Orejvon 

Utah 

i85,63o    

269,170    

114,798    

13,294 
ii,38o 

Kansas 

Nebraska 

335,882    

Washington 

123,022!    

Total  West. . . 

1,417,991 

50,240    272,324 

792,719 

1,470,013.    2,967,840 

4,900,869 

Grand  Total.. 

2,4T0,19G  3,929,8i'T  5,3no,S25  7,239,814 

9,G54,506  12,SGG,020  17,069,453 

23,191,876 

The  progress  of  the  white  pojjulation  in  the  three  sections, 
with  the  immigration  decennialy,  ran  as  follows  : 
While  Population  and  Immigration. 

South. 

1790 1,271,692 

1800 1,702,9^0 

1810 2,208,785 

1820 2,842,340 

i83o 3,660,758 

1840 4,632,640 

i85o 6,221,868 

i860  (est.) 8,097,000 


Inunigration 

Nor.TH. 

West. 

m  lu  years. 

1,902,475 

2,55i,585 

49.740 

3,383,259 

268,870 

4,225,692 

783,679 

i5o,ooo 

5,407,170 

1,434.127 

128,502 

6,616,761 

2,738,317 

538,38i 

8,476,709 

4,834,317 

1,427,337 

11,190,000 

7,867,000 

2,5i8,o54 

Southivn  Wealth  and  Northcm  Profits.  101 

The  estimate  of  the  population  for  ISGO  is  based  on  tlie 
known  progress  of  the  population  in  the  previous  returns,  and 
tlie  known  number  of  immigrants.  The  number  of  persons 
who  arrived  in  the  country  up  to  tlie  cerisus^'df  1850,  wtl:^ 
given  officially  at  2,241.220,  and  the  censijs  reported  2,210,831) 
as  residing  in  the  country,  a  number  whioli  vjfy 'iieaf^y/ac^j-t'c.^-, 
but  a  large  number  of  those  who  had  arrived  were,  of  course, 
dead,  and  many  had  left  the  country.  There  were,  also,  num- 
bers in  the  annexed  territories  who  were  born  abroad,  but  who 
were  not  reported  as  arrivals.  The  latter  were  mostly  at  the 
South,  and  the  census  shows  that  of  2,210,839  persons  living 
in  the  U.  States,  and  born  abroad,  there  were  310,070  only  at 
the  South. 

Tlie  census  of  1850  gave  the  nativities  of  the  population  of 
the  three  sections  ;  these  we  condense  as  follows  : 

United  States  White  Population — 1850. 

Living  Liting  Liring 

SoHt/i.  Xortk.  Went.  Total. 

Bora  South 5,510,687  69.501              660.142  6,24o,33o 

"     North 337.765  6,9/11, 5io  1.090,814  8.370,089 

"     West 57,296  19.696  3,060,177  3,137,169 

"    Abroad 316,670  1,292,241               601.928  ■  2,310,839 

Total 6,222,418  8,342,933  5,413,0.59  19,958,427 

These  numbers  include  only  the  white  population,  and  it  is 
matter  of  much  regret  that  the  same  detail  was  not  preserved 
in  respect  of  the  black  population,  since  the  origin  of  the  free 
black.-j,  particularly  those  living  in  the  West,  is  matter  of  nnicb 
interest.  The — in  round  numbers — two  millions  of  foreigners 
living  at  the  North  and  West,  at  the  date  of  the  census,  accord- 
ing to  the  estimates  of  the  Emigrant  Commissioners,  brought 
in;o  the  country  $200,000,000  in  capital,  which  was  applied  br 
them  in  prosecuting  that  productive  industry  which,  in  its  re- 
sults, so  largely  swells  the  sum  total  of  Northern  prosperity. 
This  is  an  element  in  which  the  South  has  not  participated.  It 
is  sometimes  alleged  that  the  reason  the  Soutli  d<n'S  not  get 
its  share  of  the  immigration  is,  that  slavery  is  objected  to  by 
the  new-comei-s  ;  that  is,  however,  a  superficial  rejison,  since 
they  can  know  little  of  the  institution,  or  of  blacks,  until  they 
arrive  here.  Tlie  true  reason  is,  probably,  that  they  follow  the 
parallels  of  latitude  to  which  they  have  become  accustomed, 
as  do  the  emigrants  from  the  Northern  States.  A  considerable 
number  of  alien  laborers  have,  of  late  years,  been  enij)loyed 


102  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

Sontli  in  the  winter,  in  drainage  and  sucii  employments  as 
careful  masters  think  too  unhealthy  for  valuable  blacks;  these, 
however,  return  jSI'ortli  when  the  work  is  done.  All  that  large 
class  of  immigrants  that  are  employed  in  domestic  service  at  the 
jiforth,  certainly  would  find  the  same  position  filled  by  blacks 
a  th^  South  ;:  li-xit  it  is  due  to  their  presence  at  the  North  al- 
most entirely  that  Northern  housekeepers  can  find  servants 
at  all.  The  Irish  and  Germans  perform  almost  all  the  domes- 
tic service  of  the  ISTorthern  cities,  and  the  former  form  almost 
the  whole  factory  force. 

The  deSH'th  of  servants  causes  always  a  rise  in  the  rate  of 
wages  at  the  North,  when  immigration  from  any  cause  dimin- 
ishes, as  has  been  the  case  in  the  last  few  years.  This  is  likely 
to  diminish  still  more,  as  the  migration  from  Europe  has  taken 
a  turn  which  promises  to  dry  up  that  source  of  a  supply  of 
labor.  The  hold  which  is  had  upon  the  Irish,  is  the  economy 
of  those  already  in  service.  These  save  and  ronit  a  large  por- 
tion of  their  earnings  to  their  friends,  in  order  to  aid  in  paying 
the  passages  of  relatives,  who  continue  to  seek  service  in  the 
Atlantic  cities  as  the  first  means  of  livelihood.  The  amount 
of  money  sent  to  their  parents,  brothers,  and  sisters,  and  other 
relatives,  by  the  Irish  servant-girls  in  this  country,  may  well 
astonish  the  public.  Eev.  Dr.  Cahill,  who  is  now  lecturing  in 
this  country  with  so  much  eclat  and  success,  took  the  pains  to 
ascertain  the  amount  sent  to  Ireland  in  a  single  year.  He 
obtained  returns  from  the  different  ofiices  in  this  city  which 
transmit  money  to  that  country,  and  found  that,  in  the  year 
1859,  the  aggregate  sum  amounted  to  $1,350,000 —  one  million 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  But  for  this  source 
domestic  servants  would  scarcely  be  had  at  all,  since  very  few 
of  those  born  here  will  take  service ;  they  eke  out  a  scanty 
living  in  the  various  employments  which  are  dependent  upon 
Southern  purchasers  to  pay  at  all,  and  consider  service  as  quite 
degrading.  It  is  probably  the  case  that  this  kind  of  work  is 
considered  far  more  degrading  than  even  at  the  South,  where 
it  is  mostly  done  by  blacks.  It  is  said  that  slavery  injures 
free  labor  by  degrading  work ;  domestic  service  certainly  is 
held  to  be  so  degrading  at  the  North  that  no  natives  will  do  it. 

The  West  has  one-ninth  of  its  population  born  abroad,  and 
they  have  arrived  with  funds  with  w^hich  they  have  bought 
land,  settled  it,  and  added  to  the  supply  of  surplus  produce 
exported.     The  mass  of  persons  born  at  the  North,  who  have 


Souf/ieni  Wealth  am?  Northern  Profits.  103 

moved  West,  carried  tliitlier  u  large  amount  of  capital,  applied 
to  agriculture,  mauufacturcs,  mines,  ttc.  The  accession  of 
persons  born  South,  it  appears,  was  larger  than  that  from 
European  countries.  The  figures  show  that  the  South  has 
mainly  depended  upon  its  own  resources  for  increase  of  popu- 
lation, since  it  has  lost  more  to  the  North  than  it  has  gained 
thence  and  from  abroad. 

The  figures  show  that  the  South  contains  711,731  not  born 
on  its  soil ;  while  there  are  North  and  "West  72y,G4.']  ])err;ons 
born  South.  Its  acquisitions  have,  therefore,  nearly  ecpuilled 
its  losses  by  migration.  The  North,  on  the  other  hand,  has 
lost  largel}''  of  its  native  population,  and  comparing  it  with  the 
South,  the  results  are  as  follows  : 

NonTii.  Sorrii. 

Born 8,370,089  6.24o,33o 

Living 6,941, 5io  5,310.687 

Emigrated,  17  per  cent 1,428,579  729,643,  or  12  per  cent.         * 

An  incendiary  publication,  after  showing  that  the  census 
gives  as  above  a  migration  of  729,040  persons  from  the  South, 
remarks : 

"This  last  table,  compiled  from  the  llOth  page  of  the  Com- 
pendium of  the  Seventh  Census,  shows,  in  a  most  lucid  and 
startling  manner,  how  negroes,  plaver}',  and  slaveholders,  are 
driving  the  native  non-slaveholding  whites  away  from  their 
homes,  and  keeping  at  a  distance  other  decent  ];eoj)le.  From 
the  South  the  tide  of  emigration  still  flows  in  a  westerly  and 
northwesterly  direction,  and  so  it  will  continue  to  do  until 
slavery  is  abolished." 

If  this  very  clear  reasoning  is  true  of  the  South,  whence  less 
than  12  per  cent,  of  the  poi)ulation  has  migrated,  what  infer- 
ence is  to  be  drawn  from  the  fact  that  17  per  cent,  of  those 
born  at  the  great,  opulent,  free  North  have  emigrated?  What 
has  "  driven  them  away  from  their  homes?"  Is  it  slavery,  (»r 
the  want  of  it?  If  this  fact  of  migration  proves  any  thing,  it 
is  that  the  poor  whites  are  better  off  at  the  South  than  at  the  ^ 
North,  since  they  show  less  disposition  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  promise  of  the  AVest — a  promise  which,  as  yet,  is  very  far 
from  being  fulfilled.  The  attractions  of  the  fertile  lands  of  the 
West  have,  no  doubt,  proved  very  powerful  for  great  mimlicrs 
in  l)oth  the  Atlantic  sections,  but  much  more  so  to  those  who 
dwell  in  the  sterile  reirions  of  the  North,  than  to  those  «>f  the 


104  Southern  Wealth  and  NoHhern  Profits. 

sunny  South.  The  numbers  who  have  left  the  Northern  sec- 
tion have  been  replaced,  it  appears,  by  the  immigrants ;  for 
these  there  has  been  less  attraction  at  the  West;  the  results 
are  as  follows : 

Born  abroad 2,210,839 

Living  North 1,292,241 

"        South 316,670 

"        West 601,928 

2,210,839 

The  north  has  received  136,138  less  from  abroad  tlian  she 
has  lost  of  her  native  population.  The  latter  were  agricultur- 
ists, and  the  former  were  domestic  servants,  factory  hands,  and 
artisans,  who  remain  in  the  cities,  and  find  employment  in 
furnishing  goods  to  meet  the  demand  from  the  South.  That 
they  live  at  the  North,  is  the  case;  but  they  are  not  the  less 
supported  by  Southern  patronage.  All  those  concerned  in  the 
trades,  would  not  the  less  promptly  feel  the  effects  of  a  non- 
intercourse,  because  the  proceeds  of  their  labor  find  a  market 
through  third  hands.  The  state  of  the  shoe  trade  is  indicative 
of  what  must  result  from  a  continuance  of  a  restricted  Southern 
trade.     A  Boston  paper  describes  this  interest  as  follows : 

"  Commission  houses,  agencies,  manufacturing  firms,  have 
mcreased,  and  there  are  to-day  over  two  hundred  wholesale 
and  jobbing  boot,  shoe,  and  leather  dealers,  and  over  one  hun- 
dred hide  and  leather  dealers  in  Boston,  transacting  a  business 
amounting  to  the  enormous  aggregate  of  about  sixty  millions 
of  dollars  am^nually.  The  manufactures  of  one  single  city, 
within  seven  miles  of  Boston,  are  in  value  between  four  and 
five  millions  of  dollars  annually,  more  than  the  entire  produce 
of  the  State  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago  ;  and  that  city,  with 
others  like  it,  is  pouring  its  wealth  of  home  manufactures  into 
Boston  for  a  market.  Eighty  thousand  people  in  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts  are  occupied  in  the  manufacture  of 
hoots,  shoes,  and  leather,  of  every  conceivable  and  desirable 
variety,  style,  and  material;  and  from  their  workshops  and 
their  factories  there  is  an  incessant  transit  to  the  metropolis  of 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  boxes  and  cases  of  boots  and  shoes." 

The  exports  of  shoes  from  Boston  were  as  follows,  during 
the  year  1859  : 


Southern  WeaJih  and  NortJu-rn  Profits.  105 


Cases  of  Shoes  Exported  from  lioslnn,  1859. 

First  Sfcond  Third  Fourth  Total 

quarter.  quarti'r.  quarter.  qiinrt^r.  ;/«//■. 

To  Baltimore i4,238  g,585  24,767  i3,o24  ^2.461 

"    Charleston 4,233  1.484  9.379  i,5Hi  17.177 

"    Louisville 7,870  1,373  8,872  2,004  21. no 

"    Loxinizton 768  239  958  160  2,1 58 

"    Meinpliis i,5i5  552  1,011  220  3,338 

"    Mobile 807  279  618  1,261  2,9Jo 

"    Nashville 4,3o2  921  7,267  1,291  '^.781 

"    Natchez 2  9  41  45  97 

"    Padiieah 184  96  689  177  1.146 

"    retcrsburs:h 23  72  33i  101  529 

"    Pine  Bluft";  Ark 358  77  199  41  r>S3 

"    Richmond 681               219  522  1.432 

"    San  Antonio 157  186  434  23  75o 

"    Savannah,  Geo 610  458  i,323  i35  3,526 

"    St.  Louis 24,246  4,347  28,956  8,21 5  35.774 

"    Vicksburg,  Miss 75  82  227  87  371 

"    New  Orleans 9,490  6,290  12,470  9,436  37,686 

Total 69,559  27,070  97)756  89,182  233,567 

"    Other  Southern  towns.  '7.79' 

Total  direct  South.  25 1, 358 

"    Philadelphia 17,242            9,688            23,635              4,604            36.119 

*'    New  York 29.288          43,469             55,2o8            22,287           183.207 

"    All  others 228. J07 

Total  cases 2i5,886        186,612  260,829  105,714  7'7>99' 

The  decline  in  the  quantities  shipped  in  the  fourtli  quarter  is 
very  marked.  The  total  value  sent  South  directly  in  the  year 
is  about  $12,000,000  ;  hut  a  large  portion  of  those  cases  that 
were  sent  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia  were  to  su])])ly  the 
Southern  market ;  at  least  half  the  whole  quantity  was  taken 
South,  and  the  returns  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  year  shows  a 
decline  of  154,615  cases  ;  and  the  depression  in  the  shoe  trade, 
leading  to  the  great  strike,  results  from  the  diniini.<hed  l)usiness. 
The  same  general  state  of  affairs  shows  itself,  more  or  less,  in 
all  the  trades;  because  it  is  the  slave  earnings  that  all  depend 
upon  for  business.  It  is  not  to  be  understood  by  this,  that  there 
is  no  other  demand  except  that  which  originates  South;  hut 
that  demand  is  of  so  large  a  proportion  that  a  diminution  of  it 
makes  lower  prices,  and  strikes  inevitable,  "\yhcn  there  is  less 
work,  the  alternative  is  to  discharge  part  of  the  liands,  or  to 
work  all  short  time ;  when  prices  fall  for  the  goods,  lower  cost 
of  production  becomes  inevitable,  and  this  is  reached  by  less 
wages,  which  the  workers  resist.  They  make  common  cause, 
and  production  ceases  at  their  cost,  until  the  lowered  sujtply 
overtakes  the  demand,  and  prices  are  restored.  Under  the 
present  circumstances,  the  remedy  would  be  migration,  or  tlio 
can-yiiig  of  the  workshops  nearer  to  the  consumer.     This,  no 


106 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


doubt,  will  be  the  case  when  the  prejudices  in  relation  to 
Southern  climate  shall  have  been  overcome.  The  census  gives 
us  the  followino-  view  of  the  healthiness  of  climates  : 


Deaths  in  the  Free  and  in  the  Slave  States — 1850. 


Free  States. 

Connecticut 

Maine 

Massaclmsetts , 

New  Ilanipsliire 

New  Jt-rscy 

New  York". 

Pennsylvania 

Ehode"  Island 

Vermont 


Ko.  of    Patio  to  the 
(ieni/is.     No.  living. 


5,781 
7.545 
19.414 
4.268 
6.467 
44.339 
2S,3iS 


North 121, 5o5 

Illinois 11,619 


Indiana. 

Iowa 

Michigan . . 
Ohio 

"Wisconsin. 

West.. 


[2,728 
2.044 
4,520 

28.049 


62,74^ 


64.13 
77.29 
5i.23 
74.49 
73.70 
69.85 
8i.63 
65.83 
100. i3 

71.04 

73.28 
77.65 
94. o3 
88.19 
68.41 
105.82 

78.10 


Slave  States. 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Kentucky  

Lonisiana 

Maryland 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

North  Carohna. 
South  Carolina. 

Tennessee 

Texas  

Virginia 


No.  of    natiotothe 
deaths.    No.  living. 


9,084 
2,987 
1,209 
933 
9,920 
10, 206 

11,948 
9.394 

8.711 

12,21  I 
10.207 

7,997 
11,759 

3,046 
19,053 


84.94 
70.18 
75.71 
93.67 
91.93 
64.60 
42.85 
60.77 
69.93 
55.81 
85.12 
83.59 
85.34 
69.79- 
74.61 


South i33,865        71.82 


This  does  not  give  the  true  state  of  affairs,  since  those  who 
go  to  the  West  are  robust  emigrants,  while  they  leave  the 
sickly  at  home  ;  by  which  means  the  mortality  of  the  East 
would  show  much  larger  than  the  West.  The  South,  also, 
would  show  a  much  larger  mortality,  for  the  reason  that  such 
numbers  who  leave  the  North  for  their  health,  generally  die 
where  they  expect  to  find  it.  Massachusetts  has  less  attraction 
on  the  score  of  health  than  any  State,  except  Louisiana,  which 
the  tables  represent  as  the  most  unhealthy  State.  There  is, 
therefore,  nothing  on  the  score  of  health  which  should  deter 
the  migration  of  hands  to  the  Southern  markets,  as  capital 
progesses  there  to  encourage  it.  The  attractions  of  the  North 
to  those  who  go  there  to  buy  goods,  are  largely  depended 
upon  as  a  means  of  preventing  any  very  serious  interi-uption 
of  the  bonds  of  trade.  There  are,  no  doubt,  many  reasons 
why  a  good  understanding  should  continue  to  exist,  since 
mutual  advantages  result;  but  so  thought  the  politicians 
of  the  mother  country  in  respect  of  the  colonies.  They 
depended  upon  those  advantages  to  hold  the  countries  to- 
gether while  they  pushed  a  distasteful  course,  until  the  dis- 
advantages outweighed  the  advantages,  awakening  counter-in- 
terests, and  separation  became  inevitable. 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Proffs.  107 

If  we  now  take  from  the  census  the  employ monts  of  tlie  free 
people  m  each  section,  we  have  results  as  follows : 

Employments  of  Free  People. 

North.  Wkst.  South.  Total. 

Mimufacturing 684,761  122,364  i5i.9i4  o57,o5o 

Commerce,  trades,  and  mining. . .  230,282  226, 58i  i8o,334  639,206 

Agriculture ...  823,220  728,127  769,216  2.4oo.5S3 

Labor 547,458  198,582  247.680  993,620 

Navigation 79.675  10,093  26,573  ii6.34i 

Domestic  service. i3,86i  4.2b5  4, 177  22,243 

Army 1,788  1.548  2,047  5,370 

Professions 38,496  22.262  33.807  94,5i5 

Government  service 11.861  3.668  0,437  24.966 

Other  pursuits 37,522  16.073  36.939  95.814 

"      occupations i4,o53  2,322  5,779  22.159 

Total  employed 2.482,800         1,335,733         1.653,255         5,371,876 

Population 8,342,938         5,4i3,o59        6,222,418       19,958,424 

The  proportion  employed  in  these  industries  is,  it  appears, 
larger  at  tlie  South,  in  proportion  to  the  white  population,  than 
it  is  at  the  West,  and  tlie  ratio  falls  but  a  little  behind  that  of 
tlie  Korth.  This,  it  will  be  remembered,  refers  to  the  free  }!op- 
ulation  only,  and  while  the  population  is  as  busily  occupied  as 
at  the  North,  and  more  so  than  at  the  West,  there  is,  over  and 
above,  the  great  slave  population  which  carries  on  agricultural 
labor  on  a  scale  superior  to  that  of  any  other  section.  If  the 
number  of  workers  is  as  large  at  the  South  in  proportion  to  the 
population  as  in  the  other  sections,  the  capital  so  employed  is 
less,  for  the  reason  that  the  commercial  system  of  the  country 
has  given  advantages  to  that  at  the  Xorth.  If  we  compare  the 
number  of  families  and  dwellings  in  each  section,  the  results 
are  as  follows : 

North.  Wkst.  Soitii. 

Families i,58?,95i  87^,748  1,128.534 

Dwellin<,'s i,390,oo5  8J0.607  1,116,725 

At  the  South,  where  dwellings  are  the  least  required,  the 
number  per  family  is  the  greatest.  In  the  large  cities  of  the 
North,  the  numbers  that  crowd  into  one  house  are  frightful. 
In  respect  to  the  number  of  dwellings,  the  South  is  at  least 
quite  as  well  provided  as  the  other  Becti<»n8. 

In  respect  to  tlie  morality  of  the  i»eople,  the  census  furnishes 
some  figures.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  tlie.^e  cannot  b« 
very  accurate,  however,  since  much  depends  upon  the  manner 
in  which  the  law  is  admini.sterud.  There  may  l)e  more  i>rompt- 
ness  in  arrests,  more  iacility  of  conviction,  in  one  |)lHce  than 
another,  and  various  causes  may  interpose  to  ])revcnt  tlu;  actual 
number  punished  from  being  a  true  test  of  the  prevalence  of 


108  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

'crime.  I^evertlieless  we  liave  given,  in  tlie  chapter  upon  black 
population,  the  numbers  in  jail,  showing  that  the  South  has  no 
cause  of  shame  on  that  score. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

THE  BLACK  RACE  AT  THE  NORTH. 

The  principle  has  been  well  recognized,  that  it  is  the  duty, 
not  only  of  communities,  but  of  individuals,  to  contribute  each 
its  share  towards  the  general  well-being.  The  source  of  all 
wealth  being  originally  land  and  labor,  no  set  of  people  have  si 
right  to  seize  and  witliliold  from  the  service  of  humanity  at 
large  any  portion  of  the  earth's  surface.  This  is  the  question 
that  underlies  land  reform,  and  it  is  also  that  which  underlies 
servitude,  as  no  race  of  men  have  a  right  either  to  monopolize 
the  gifts  of  Providence,  or  the  right  to  live  without  labor. 
Tlie  exigencies  of  society  require  that  all  should,  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  be  producers,  and  in  the  early  stages  of  society 
slavery  was  universal,  and  ordered  by  the  divine  command, 
for  the  reason  that  the  masses  of  men  had  not  learned  to  appre- 
ciate industry.  This  coercion  of  labor  prevailed  very  generally 
down  to  very  recent  dates.  It  is  only  in  modern  times  that 
human  intelligence,  even  of  the  white  race,  has  induced  men 
to  labor  for  the  rewards  it  confers.  The  desire  to  possess  prop- 
erty was  found  to  be  a  sufficient  stimulus  for  the  majority  of 
the  white  race  to  labor  in  a  free  state ;  accordingly,  servitude 
ceased  to  be  necessary.  Indeed,  it  became  detrimental  to  the 
general  interests,  for  the  reason  that  the  free  worker  produced 
more  than  the  servile  laborer.  This  was  not  universally  the 
case^  however,  but  pauperism  and  crime  were  resorted  to  by 
those  who  had  a  distaste  for  labor.  The  law  of  servitude  held 
good  for  these  exceptions,  and  the  workhouses  and  prisons  of 
most  civilized  countries  are  illustrative  of  its  application.  The 
liistory  of  the  poor-laws  of  England  is  fraught  with  instruction 
upon  this  head.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  when  servitude 
was  dying  out,  the  laws  against  paupers  were  very  severe ;  not 
only  were  "  sturdy  beggars"  subjected  to  severe  punishment, 
but  those  who  relieved  or  harbored  them  were  also  visited  se- 
verely by  the  law.     With  the  progress  of  civilization,  some 


Souf/uni  Wealth  an,/  \(>rtli,'rn  I'roffs.  lOf) 

amelioration  of  these  laws  took  place ;  but,  alas  for  human  na- 
ture, it  was  found  that  pauperism  increased  as  relief  was  ex- 
tended. Numbers  of  persons  were  content  with  idkMiess  and 
tlie  sustenance  afforded  by  law,  and  wrun*^  from  the  earnings 
of  the  industrious.  It  was  also  sliowu  in  the  Parliatnentary 
reports  that  thrift  and  a  disi)osition  to  save  were  checked  by 
the  knowledge  that,  in  the  event  of  distress,  tlie  parish  must 
support  the  pauper.  |  Nevertheless,  as  a  general  tiling,  the 
white  race  will  work  eagerly  for  the  reward  of  lal)or.  In  this 
fact  exists  the  broad  distinction  between  the  white  and  the 
black  race.  The  latter,  it  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  world's 
experience,  will  not  work  at  all  if  he  can  help  it.  Idleness  is 
his  chief  good,  and  pauperism  and  theft  are  for  the  race  not  an 
imwelcome  means  of  attaining  their  object.  \  The  vis  inertia  of 
the  black  blood  is  so  great,  that  even  a  large  mixture  of  white 
blood  will  overcome  it  only  so  far  as  to  induce  the  individual 
to  perform  menial  offices,  clinging  to  the  skirts  of  white  society. 
It  never  suffices  to  impart  energy  or  enterprise  to  the  black 
descendant. 

The  fact  of  the  inertness  of  the  black  is  singularly  corrobo- 
rated by  a  correspondent  of  the  New  YorJ:  He  raid  of  February 
6th,  who  sought  to  apologize  for  the  condition  of  the  refugee 
blacks  in  Canada. 

'•  It  is  not  generally  known  to  the  world,  that  full  one-half 
of  the  arrivals  from  the  South  are  children  of  wiiite  fathers. 
Startling  as  this  declaration  nuiy  be,  it  is  nevertheless  true. 
And  some  of  them  are  men  known  and  distinguished  in  our 
national  councils.  Is  it  not  a  slander  u])on  these  ilhistrioua 
sires,  to  say  they  have  begotten  a  race  that  cannot  take  care  of 
themselves? 

"  I  have  known  whole  families  to  arrive  in  Canada  from  the 
South  with  scarcely  a  particle  of  African  blood  visible  in  thi-ir 
faces.  The  i)hilosophy  of  the  case  is,  therefore,  clearly  <»n  the 
side  of  the  runaways." 

Tliose  only  who  have  a  good  deal  of  white  blood  have  sulli- 
cient  energy  to  migrate ;  the  true  black,  never.  Enough  oi 
the  black  nature  remains  in  the  runaway,  however,  to  unfit 
him  for  any  useful  purpose.  This  fact  is  within  the  knowledge 
of  every  citizen  of  the  United  States.  In  all  the  N<»rthern 
States,  there  are  hanging  on  the  outskirts  of  towns  and  villages 
pauper  blacks,  the  miserable  remnant  of  former  well-fed  slaves. 
These  are  always  a  nuisance,  and  so  well  known  is  it  that,,  even 


110  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

Ohio — wliicli  was  settled  on  the  territory  given  hy  Virginia, 
and  devoted  to  freedom  forever  by  Nathan  Dane's  resohition 
in  Convention — among  its  first  laws,  enacted  one  excluding 
blacks  from  the  State  on  any  pretence.  The  white  person  who 
brought  in  a  free  negro  must  give  security  in  $500  for  the  be- 
havior of  that  black,  and  that  he  should  not  come  upon  the 
town.  Illinois,  and  other  States,  enacted  the  same  law,  and 
very  justly.  The  free  black,  without  referring  to  the  fact  that 
he  is  here  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  will  not  contribute  his 
share  to  the  exigencies  of  society,  and  it  is  too  much  to  impose 
liis  support  upon  the  labor  of  industrious  whites.  He  claims 
to  be  free,  but  lives  only  to  prey  upon  society.  Why  should 
he  be  exempt  from  the  rules  that  apply  to  similar  white  per- 
sons ?  Although  the  grown  white  man  will  work  for  support 
and  property,  youth  are,  as  a  general  thing,  disinclined  to  do 
so,  because  they  have  still  a  sense  of  dependence.  The  law, 
consequently,  provides  for  their  coercion — every  white  male 
may  be  bound  by  his  parents  or  guardians,  or  overseers  of  the 
poor,  to  a  trade,  and  compelled  to  work  for  his  master  until 
21,  his  earnings  belonging  to  his  parents.  If  he  escapes  from 
service,  he  may  be  arrested  and  sent  back.  The  police  reports 
of  the  city  contain  many  such  arrests.  The  provision  of  the 
United  States  Constitution  which  provides  for  the  surrendering 
of  persons  escaped  from  service,  applies  as  well  to  these  as  to 
blacks,  and  is  always  executed  without  any  clamor  from  "  un- 
derground railroad"  agents,  or  demand  for  trial  by  a  jury 
of  runaway  apprentices  or  confederate  idlers.  Again,  for  ma- 
ture white  persons  who  are  atflicted  with  poverty,  the  la"v^ 
makes  provision  for  their  support,  and  also  to  compel  them  tc 
labor  where  they  are  capable  of  it.  Perhaps  the  most  barbar- 
ous laws  in  this  respect  exist  in  some  parts  of  I^ew  England— 
especially  Connecticut.  Tlie  rule  is  to  sell  the  paupers  annually 
at  so  much^Der  head,  usually  from  $15  to  $20.  The  "lot"  is 
put  up  at  auction,  and  the  man  who  bids  the  lowest  sum  to 
keep  these  poor  persons  a  year  takes  the  lot.  He  then  provides 
as  cheaply  as  he  can  for  them,  intending  of  course  to  make 
money  by  the  operation,  and  they  are  required  to  work  for 
him.  Tlius,  in  the  fishing  section,  they  must  clean  fish  and 
feed  on  the  ofi'al ;  if  they  die  in  the  course  of  this  treatment, 
so  much  the  better  for  the  contracror,  whose  interest  under  the 
system  is  directly  that  they  may  perish  before  his  year  is  out, 
and  there  are  none  to  make  inquiries. 


Southeim  Wealth  and  North,  rn  Profits.  Ill 

In  reply  to  inquiries  respecting  tlie  ])anper  laws  of  Connec- 
ticut, we  received  the  following  from  high  authority : 

"It  is  the  custom  in  many  towns  in  Coiniecticut  to  set  \\\t  the 
paupers  at  auction  every  year,  and  knock  them  off  to  the  lowest 
bidder;  that  is,  to  the  man  who  will  take  them  for  the  year  at 
the  lowest  price.  This  was  the  case,  to  my  knowledge,  in  sev- 
eral counties.  I  have  always  understood  it  to  be  a  genei-al  thing 
in  Connecticut.  When  we  were  in  H.  they  were  sold,  to  the 
number  of  sixty,  for  the  year,  to  our  next-door  neighbor,  for 
815  a  head;'  and  he  got  all  the  work  out  of  them  that  he 
could,  though  most  of  tliem  were  infirm,  and  not  able  to  do 
nmch.  They  hoed  his  corn,  and  sawed  Ins  wood,  and  weeded 
his  garden ;  and  being  an  extensive  fisherman,  they  assisted  in 
dressing  his  fish,  and  "did  chores'"  generally.  They  are  nnide 
to  work  all  that  they  are  able.  In  H.  the  contractor,  as  I  said, 
was  a  fisherman,  and  during  the  fishing  season  a  principal 
article  of  food  for  the  paupers  was  tlie  heads  and  tails  of  shad, 
which  were  cut  off  when  dressed  for  saltiiig.  They  were  all 
lodged  in  a  little  one-story  house,  with  an  attic  not  to  exceed 
25  by  30  feet ;  were  all  stored  in  together,  male  and  female, 
with,  as  appeared  to  me,  very  little  regard  to  decency.  In 
case  of  the  death  of  any  of  them,  the  contractor  got  a  specified 
>um  for  their  burial,  and  also,  I  think,  secured  the  whr»le 
amoiint  contracted  for  for  the  year ;  indeed,  I  believe  the 
})robable  death  of  some  of  them  was  a  contingency  calcuhited 
_»n  in  making  the  bid,  so  that  the  contractor  had  a  direct  inter- 
est in  starving  them  to  death,  or  in  neglecting  them  when  sick." 

This  may  be  philanthropy,  but  the  manner  in  which  it  works 
is  certainly  food  for  philosophy.  The  person  who  officially 
superintended  the  sale  of  the  above-mentioned  sixty  white  pau- 
t'crs  was  some  time  after  appealed  to  on  behalf  of  a  runaway 
r>hive.  His  "phelinks"  were  so  wonderfully  stirred  by  the 
<oh)r  of  the  applicant  that  he  gave  him  $10,  took  him  home, 
'•lothed  and  fed  him,  at  an  expense  equal  to  what  he  had  sold 
;i  white  pauper  fellow-townwoman  for  under  the  hammer.  This 
virtue,  however,  proved  its  own  reward,  since  the  "  runaway 
slave"  turned  out  to  be  a  knavish  wood-sawyer  from  a  distant 
town,  wdio  was  making  a  raise  on  the  "fugitive  dodge." 

That  part  of  the  white  race  which  prefers  crime  to  labor  is 
provided  for  in  the  prisons,  and  their  coerced  labor  turned  to 
account.  With  the  black  race  idleness  is  the  rule.  There  is 
no  need  of  quoting  authorities  on  this  head,  hince  the  public 


112  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

prints  are  full  of  them,  corroborating  every  man's  experience. 
Fifty  years  since  the  idea  was  indulged  that  the  black,  like  the 
white,  was  possessed  of  ambition  that  would  induce  him  to 
work  when  free.  Benevolent  and  large-hearted  men  eagerly 
adopted  the  idea  that  the  black  race  was  different  from  tlie 
white  only  in  color  of  their  skin,  and  he  was  eagerly  adopted 
as  a  "  brother."  This  being  once  settled,  the  rules  of  white  con- 
duct were  applied  to  him.  Dr.  Channing,  on  the  West  India 
emancipation  cpiestion,  thus  states  it : 

"The  planters  in  general  would  suffer  little,  if  at  all,  from 
emancipation.  This  change  would  make  them  richer  rather 
than  poorer.  One  would  think,  indeed,  from  the  common 
language  on  the  subject,  that  the  negroes  were  to  be  annihi- 
lated by  being  set  free ;  that  the  whole  labor  of  the  South  was 
to  be  destroyed  by  a  single  blow.  But  the  colored  man,  when 
freed,  will  not  vanish  from  the  soil.  He  will  stand  there  with 
the  same  muscles  as  before,  only  strung  anew  by  liberty  ;  with 
the  same  limbs  to  toil,  and  with  stronger  motives  to  toil  than  be- 
fore. He  will  work  from  hope,  not  fear  ;  will  work  for  himself, 
not  for  others ;  and  unless  all  the  principles  of  human  nature 
are  reversed  under  a  black  skin,  he  will  work  better  than  be- 
fore. We  believe  that  agriculture  will  revive ;  worn-out  soils 
will  be  renewed,  and  the  whole  country  assume  a  brighter 
aspect  wxiAox  free  laborP 

Tliis  has  proved  to  be  an  illusion.  The  first  who  properly  rec- 
ognized this  fact  was  Toussaint  L'Ouverture,  in  St.  Domingo. 
The  French  republic  had  hastily  emancipated  the  blacks,  and 
friglitful  carnage  succeeded.  Toussaint,  himself  a  slave,  had 
risen  to  control  and  respect  by  his  capacity  to  swallow  draughts 
of  blood  and  gunpowder  at  negro  rites ;  but,  notwithstanding 
all  the  attempts  to  glorify  him,  the  only  evidence  of  intellect 
he  displayed  was  in  recognizing  the  necessity  of  labor,  while 
convinced  of  the  unwillingness  of  the  blacks  to  work  ;  and  he 
promptly  re-enslaved  the  wh(Ue  of  them.  The  English  com- 
mitted a  similar  folly  to  the  French,  in  their  W.  I.  Islands,  by 
freeing  the  blacks  in  the  expectation  that  they  would  work. 
They  now  confess  the  bitterness  of  their  disappointment,  and 
admit  the  error  they  committed  in  abandoning  a  territory  so 
necessary  to  the  service  of  mankind  as  Jamaica  and  the  other 
islands  to  a  horde  of  black  savages,  who  will  neither  make  the 
land  available  nor  permit  otliers  to  do  so.  The  necessity  of 
dispossessing  or  re-enslaving  has  become  urgent. 


Southern  Wealth  and  I^mihern  Profits.  1 13 

The  London  Times  of  January  6, 1860,  in  a  long  article  upon 
"  The  State  of  the  Islands,  by  Mr.  TroUope,"  remarks  as  follows: 

'•  Negroes,  coolies,  and  planters — what  is  the  position  of  cncli, 
and  what  are  the  rights  of  each?  In  England  it  is  too  ninch 
the  custom  to  regard  only  the  first  of  these.  Floods  of  ])atlietic 
eloquence  and  long  years  of  parliamentary  struggling  hav<.^ 
taught  us  to  imagine  that  the  world  was  made  for  JSambo,  and 
that  the  sole  use  of  sugar  is  to  sweeten  Sambo's  existence.  The 
negro  is,  no  doubt,  a  very  amusing  and  a  very  amiable  fellow, 
and  we  ought  to  M^ish  him  well ;  but  he  is  also  a.  lazy  animal, 
withijut  any  foresight,  and  therefore  requiring  to  be  led  and 
compelled.  "We  must  not  judge  him  by  ourselves.  That  he  is 
capable  of  improvement  everybody  admits,  but  in  the  mean 
time  he  is  decidedly  inferior — he  is  but  very  little  raised  al)ove 
a  mere  animal.  The  negroes  know  this  themselves.  They  have 
no  idea  of  country  and  no  pride  of  race.  They  despise  them- 
selves. They  know  nothing  of  Africa,  except  that  it  is  a  term 
of  reproach,  and  the  name  which  offends  them  most  is  that  of  a 
nigger.  So  little  coniidence  havie  they  in  any  being  who  has 
an  admixture  of  their  blood,  that  no  negro  will  serve  a  mulatto 
when  he  can  serve  a  European  or  a  white  creole.  In  his  pas- 
sion he  calls  the  mulatto  a  nigger,  and  protests  that  he  is  not, 
never  will  be,  like  buckra  man.  These  colored  people,  too, 
despise  themselves,  and  in  every  possible  way  try  to  deny  their 
African  parentage.  They  talk  contemptuously  of  the  pure 
blacks,  whom  they  describe  as  dirty  niggers,  and  nasty  niggers, 
and  mere  niggers. 

"He  is  a  very  ftmny  sort  of  animal,  and  there  is  something 
interesting  in  a  being  so  dependent  as  he  is  on  the  sympathy 
of  others;  but  it  is  evident  that  he  is  scarcely  Uttcd  to  take 
care  of  liimself.  He  has  no  care  for  to-morrow,  and  it  is 
enough  if  he  can  strut  for  a  little  hour  in  his  iiiiery.  His  vir- 
tues and  his  vices  are  alike  those  of  momentary  impulse. 
Although  he  is  desperately  fond  of  life,  yet  if  he  can  lie  in  the 
sun  for  an  hour  without  pain  he  will  not  drag  himself  to  the 
hospital  to  be  cured  of  a  mortal  disease.  All  hough  he  loves 
his  children,  he  will  in  his  rage  ill-use  them  fearfully.  Al- 
though he  delights  to  hear  them  praised,  he  will  sell  his  daugh- 
ter's virtue  for  a  dollar.  A  little  makes  him  happy,  and  he  is 
so  entirely  a  creature  of  the  present  that  nothing  can  make  iiim 
permanently  wretched.  Mr.  Trollope  comj)ares  him  to  a  dog 
in  his  attachments.  The  dog  is  faithful  to  us,  and  so  is  tho 
negro.  In  return  for  our  protection  the  dogs  give  us  all  their 
hearts,  but  it  is  not  given  in  gratitude;  and  they  abstain  with 
all  their  power  from  injury,  but  they  do  nor  al)^:ain  from  judg- 
ment. The  master  may  use  either  his  dog  or  his  negro  evei-  so 
cruelly — yet  neither  has  any  anger  against  him  when  the  pain 


114  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

is  over.  If  a  stranger  should  save  either  from  such  ill  usage, 
there  would  be  no  thankfulness  after  the  moment.  Affection 
and  fidelitj  are  things  of  custom  with  him.  As  for  the  negro's 
religion,  our  author  has  little  faith  in  it.  The  negroes,  he  says, 
much  prefer  to  belong  to  a  Baptist  congregation  or  to  a  so- 
called  Wesleyan  body,  because  there  an  excitement  is  allowed 
to  them  which  is  denied  in  the  Church  of  England.  They  sing, 
they  halloo,  they  scream,  they  have  their  revivals,  they  talk  of 
their  '  dear  broders,'  and  '  dear  sisters,'  and  '  in  their  extatic 
bowlings  get  some  fun  for  their  money.' 

"  A  servile  race,  peculiarly  fitted  by  nature  for  the  hardest 
physical  work  in  a  burning  climate,  the  negro  has  no  desire 
for  property  strong  enough  to  induce  him  to  labor  with  sus- 
tained power.  He  lives  from  hand  to  mouth.  In  order  that 
he  may  have  his  dinner,  and  some  small  finery,  he  will  work 
a  little,  but  after  that  he  is  content  to  lie  in  the  sun.  This,  in 
Jamaica,  he  can  very  easily  do,  for  emancipation  and  free-trade 
have  combined  to  throw  enormous  tracts  of  land  out  of  culti- 
vation, and  on  these  the  negro  squats,  getting  all  that  he  wants 
with  very  little  trouble,  and  sinking  in  the  most  resolute 
fashion  back  to  the  savage  state.  Lying  under  his  cotton-tree, 
he  refuses  to  work  after  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  'iSTo, 
tankee,  massa,  me  tired  now ;  me  no  want  more  money.'  Or, 
by  way  of  variety,  he  may  say :  '  Ko ;  workee  no  more  ;  money 
no  'nutf ;  workee  no  pay,'  And  so  the  planter  must  see  his 
canes  foul  with  weeds  because  he  cannot  prevail  on  Sambo  to 
earn  a  second  shilling  by  going  into  the  cane-fields.  He  calls 
him  a  lazy  nigger,  and  threatens  him  with  starvation.  The 
answer  is — '  No,  massa ;  no  starve  now  ;  God»sent  plenty  yam.' 
These  yams,  be  it  observed,  on  which  Sambo  relies,  and  on 
the  strength  of  which  he  declines  to  work,  are  grown  on  the 
planter's  own  ground,  and  probably  planted  at  his  expense,  and 
Mr,  Trolloj)e  suggests  an  inquiry  into  the  feelings  of  an  English 
farmer  if  our  laborers  Avere  to  refuse  work  on  the  plea  that 
there  is  plenty  of  potatoes  and  bacon  to  be  had — the  potatoes 
and  bacon  ])eing  the  produce  of  the  farmer's  own  fields.  There 
lies  the  shiny,  oily,  odca-ous  negro  under  his  mango-tree,  eating 
the  luscious  fruit  in  the  sun.  '  He  sends  his  black  urchin  up 
for  a  breadfruit,  and,  behold,'  says  Mr.  Trollope,  '  the  fiimily 
table  is  spread.  He  pierces  a  cocoanut,  and,  lo !  there  is  his 
beverage.  He  lies  on  the  ground,  surrounded  by  oranges,  ba- 
nanas, and  pineapples.  Why  should  he  work?'  Let  Sambo 
himself  reply.  '  No,  massa,  me  weak  in  me  belly ;  me  no 
workee  to-day  ;  me  no  like  Avorkee  just  'em  little  moment.' 

"The  evil  which  thus  cruelly  embarrasses  the  planters  is 
chiefly  felt  in  Jamaica,  and  in  some  of  the  smaller  islands, 
Grenada,  Dominica,  and  St.  Lucia,  where  the  negro  has  the 
chance  of  squatting.     The  negro  imagined  that  his  emancipa- 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  ProftJi.  115 

tion  "was  to  be  an  emancipation  not  merely  from  slaverv,  but 
from  M'ork,  and  Britisli  pliilantlirojiy  proposes  to  protect  liim  in 
liis  laziness  from  the  competition  of  the  coolies.. 

''  As  far  as  Jamaica  is  concerned,  wliat  is  ther©  to  tempt  the 
Englishman  ?  It  is  a  fact  that  half  the  sngar  estates,  and  more 
than  half  the  coffee  plantations  have  gone  back  into  a  state  of 
hnsh,  and  a  great  portion  of  those  who  are  now  growing  canes  in 
Jamaica  are  persons  who  have  lately  bonght  the  estates  '  for  tlie 
value  of  the  copper  in  the  sugar-boilers  and  of  the  metal  in  the 
rum-stills.'  The  Anti-slavery  Society  will  scarcely  believe  in 
the  poverty  and  ruin  of  the  planter,  because  they  hear  wonder- 
ful accounts  of  his  hospitality.  '  We  send  word  to  the  ]>eople 
at  home  that  we  are  very  poor,'  say  the  planters.  'They  don't 
believe  us,  and  send  out  somebody  to  see.  For  this  somebody 
we  kill  the  fatted  calf  and  bring  out  a  bottle  or  two  of  our  best. 
He  goes  home  and  reports  that  these  Jamaica  planters  are 
princes  who  swim  in  claret  and  champagne.'  The  planter  ac- 
cordingly makes  the  complaint,  'This  is  rather  hard,  seeing 
that  our  common  fare  is  salt  fish  and  rum  and  water.'  Mr. 
Trollope  advised  the  planters  to  produce  their  ordinary  fare  on 
such  occasions,  but  the  reply  was,  '  Yes,  and  then  we  should 
get  it  on  the  other  cheek.  We  should  be  abused  for  our  stingi- 
ness.    No  Jamaica  man  could  stand  that.' " 

The  idea  of  working  for  pay  never  entered  into  black  nature. 
Mungo  Park,  in  his  da3%  said :  "  Hired  servants,  by  which  I 
mean  persons  of  free  condition,  voluntarily  working  for  pay, 
are  unknown  in  4fn^a^'' — and  no  subsequent  travellei-,  down 
to  Dr.  Livingstone,  has  reversed  that  judgment. 

In  "  Lewis's  West  Indies,"  written  17  years  before  emancipa- 
tion, it  is  remarked : 

"As  to  the  free  blacks  they  are  almost  uniformly  lazy  and 
improvident ;  most  of  them  half-starved,  and  only  anxious  to 
live  from  hand  to  mouth.  Some  lounge  about  the  highways 
with  pedler-boxes  stocked  with  various  worthless  baubles; 
others  keep  miserable  stalls,  provided  with  rancid  butter,  dam- 
aged salt-pork,  and  other  such  articles ;  and  these  they  are 
always  willing  to  exchange  for  stolen  rum  and  sugar,  which 
they  secretly  tempt  the  negroes  to  pilfer  from  their  projjrietoi-s; 
but  few  of  them  ever  endeavor  to  earn  their  livelihood  credit- 
ably. Even  those  who  profess  to  be  tailors,  carpenters,  or 
coopers,  are,  for  the  most  part,  careless,  drunken,  and  dissi- 
pated, and  never  take  pains  sufficient  to  attain  any  dexterity 
in  their  trade.  As  to  a  free  negro  hiring  hhmclf  out  for  pUn- 
tation  labor,  no  instance  of  such  a  thing  was  ever  I'nown  rn  Ja- 


116  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

maica  /  and  probably  no  price,  however  great,  would  be  con- 
sidered by  tliem  as  a  sufficient  temptation." 

Captain  Hamilton,  on  bis  examination  as  a  witness  before  a 
select  committee  of  Parliament,  stated  that  Jamaica  had  be- 
come "  a  desert^''  and  being  asked  if  he  thouglit  the  term 
"  deserf  was  quite  applicable  to  the  state  of  things  there,  re- 
plied :  "I  should  saj,  peculiarly  applicable,  without  any  ex-ag- 
geraitonP 

In  a  memorial,  addressed  by  the  council  and  assembly  of 
Jamaica,  to  her  majesty,  the  Queen,  dated  February  19,  1852, 
after  alluding  to  the  distressed  condition  of  the  island,  and. the 
probable  complete  abandonment  of  sugar  culture  throughout 
the  British  Antilles,  unless  a  remedy  were  provided,  the  moral 
deterioration  of  the  island  is  thus  noticed  : 

"  In  conclusion,  we  would  humbly  entreat  the  consideration 
of  your  majesty,  to  the  moral  eifects  which  must  be  produced 
,on  the  lower  classes  of  the  population  of  this  island  by  the  gen- 
eral abandonment  of  property  and  withdrawal  of  capital,  now 
unhappily  in  progress.  Convinced  that  in  granting  freedom  to 
the  British  slave,  it  never  was  intended  to  allow  him  to  sink 
into  a  state  of  barbarism  and  uncivilization,  we  still  feel  it  our 
humble  duty  to  assure  your  majesty,  that  the  downward  prog- 
ress of  the  agricultural  resources  of  the  colony  has  heen  already 
accompanied  hy  a  retrogression  in  moral  conduct  on  the  part  of 
the  lower  classes,  and  we  are  assured  that  this  retrogression 
must  and  will,  for  obvious  reasons,  keep  pace  with  the  destruc- 
tion of  property,  and  the  consequent  expulsion  from  the  colony 
of  all  whom  necessity  may  not  compel  to  residence,  events  that 
must  speedily  occur,  unless  your  majesty  shall  be  pleased  gra- 
ciously to  receive  our  petition,  and  we  obtain  from  the  Imperial 
Parliament  efficient  aid,  ere  ruin  and  desolation  shall  have  taken 
the  place  of  prosperity  and  cultivation,  and  religion  and  morality 
shall  have  been  superseded  by  barbarism  and  superstition." 

There  were  liberated  633.000  blacks  in  the  West  Indies — a^ 
■number  equal  to  what  these  United  States  contained  at  the  for- 
mation of  the  Union,  Yet  the  products  of  the  West  Indies 
have  nearly  ceased,  except  what  arises  from  coolie  labor. 

During  the  nine  years  between  1847  and  1856,  47,739  labor- 
ers were  introduced  into  the  West  India  islands  and  British 
Guiana.*     These  are  just  47,739  protests  against  the  abomina- 

*  Par.  Kep.,  18^,  cited  by  Mr.  Cave.— Kma,  Z>ec.  28,  1857. 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profts.  117 

ble  laziness  of  the  negro.  The  ^vorld  has  been  scraj)ed  and 
raked  to  bring  laborers  to  the  West  Indies,  to  eat  the  bread  and 
hoard  the  wealth  ofteied  to  the  black  man  ;  laborers  iVom 
China,  coolies  from  India,  Portnguese  from  Modiiia,  Africans 
from  Sierra  Leone  and  from  captured  slave-ships,  have  all 
been  brought  distances  of  from  5,000  to  15,000  miles  to  shamo 
this  degraded  race ! — and  still  we  arc  told  there  is  no  induce- 
ment for  them  to  work,  and  that  sntticient  pay  is  not  offered  to 
them.  Is  it  a  reasonable  statement  to  make,  to  say  that  the 
planters  can  fit  out  ships  and  send  them  to  the  antipodes  for 
laborers,  under  a  contract  to  return  them  to  their  homes  within 
a  given  period,  and  pay  them  wages  during  all  that  period,  and 
yet  that  they  would  not  rather  pay  the  same  money  to  a  laborer 
on  the  spot,  and  one,  moreover,  both  stronger  and  better  ac- 
quainted with  his  duties  than  the  other?  The  truth  is,  the 
blacks  will  not  work  without  coercion,  and  this  is  the  cause  of 
West  India  distress  and  negro  retrogression.  In  endeavoring 
to  hide  the  truth  from  our  eyes,  we  are  continuallj^  hunting  up 
causes,  when  the  real  cause  is  patent  before  us ;  the  sugar-du- 
ties bill  of  1846  is  especially  saddled  with  the  burden  of  West. 
Indian  miseries  ;  but  we  do  not  know  how  this  charge  can  be 
better  answered,  or  a  higher  authority  cited  in  proof  of  the 
idleness  of  the  blacks,  than  by  quoting  the  remarks  of  Ivirl 
Grey,  niade  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  10th  of  June,  1852. 
He  stated,  "  that  it  was  established,  by  statistical  facts,  that 
before  the  measure  of  1846  came  into  operation,  all  those  evils 
which  were  now  complained  of  were  in  actual  existence ;  that 
the  negroes  were  becoming  idle,  and  falling  back  in  civll- 
ization,  and  the  like,  and  to  what  principal  cause  had  that  been 
attributed  ?  It  was  attributed  by  every  man  who  had  looked 
into  the  state  of  the  colonies  to  this  simple  reason,  that  the 
negroes  had  been  relieved  from  the  coercion  to  which  they 
were  formerly  subjected,  and  that  they  were  living  in  a  coun- 
try where  there  was  an  almost  unlimited  extent  of  fertile  land 
open  to  them,  where  the  climate  did  not  render  fuel  or  chithiiig 
absolutely  necessary  to  life ;  that  wa<jc8  were,  so  enormoudy 
high  as  to  enable  them  to  live,  as  well  as  they  desired  to  live, 
upon  the  production  of  one  or  two  days'  labor  in  the  fortnight, 
and  that  they  had  consequently  no  earthly  motive  to  give  a 
greater  amount  of  labor  in  return  for  their  subsistence.  Tlio 
demoralization  of  the  negroes,  and  their  disinclination  to  work, 
arisinij  from  this  cause,  commenced  luni;  before  the  Act  of 


118  Southern  Wealth  and  JSForthern  Profits. 

1846.  .  .  .  Sir  H.  Light  and  Governor  Barkly  bad  both  shown, 
in  their  verj  able  dispatches,  that  the  true  cause  of  the  mis- 
chief was  the  want  of  anj  adequate  stimuhis  to  labor  on  the 
part  of  the  negroes,  from  the  manner  in  which  the  abolition  of 
slavery  had  been  eifected."* 

It  is  undeniable,  then,  that  the  majority  of  the  free  negroes 
of  the  West  Indies  are  living  in  idleness  ;  the  proofs  of  this  are 
abundant  and  varied  ;  they  are  visible  in  the  census  reports,  in 
the  dispatches  of  governors,  in  the  list  of  exports,  and  in  the 
observations  of  travellers.f 

The  same  experience  has  been  earned  by  the  French.  They 
emancipated  their  blacks  when  under  the  influence  of  the  same 
delusion.  The  same  ruin  attends  their  colonies.  A  work  of 
M.  Yacherot,  recently  published  in  Paris,  holds  the  following 
propositions  in  relation  to  the  free  black  population  of  French 
Guiana : 

"  The  idlers  should  be  punished  by  fine.  The  small  propri- 
etor ought  to  be  forced  to  produce  in  the  same  ratio  in  which 
he  would  do  when  working  on  a  large  estate,  at  a  salary.  The 
owner  who  will  neither  cultivate  nor  produce  is  a  vagabond  to 
be  punished.  It  is  not  enough  that  he  remains  at  home,  that 
he  begs  from  no  one,  he  should  be  compelled  to  make  the  land 
he  owns  produce  its  share.  The  landed  vagabond  is  a  greater 
nuisance  than  the  wandering  vagabond." 

These  ideas  are  a  very  curious  "  capsizing"  of  the  socialist 
doctrines  of  1848,  '49.  It  was  then  asserted  that  the  people  had 
a  "right  to  labor;"  that  it  M^as  the  duty  of  the  government  to 
employ  them.  The  constitution  of  1848  declared  it  the  duty  of 
government  to  provide  for  citizens  "  by  procuring  employment 
for  them."  This  was  based  upon  the  desire  of  the  white  to 
work.  The  black,  however,  will  not  work,  and  the  authorities 
of  Guiana  claim  the  right  to  make  him.  How  those  "  idle  vaga- 
bonds" are  to  be  fined  is,  however  not  so  clear. 

In  the  United  States  there  are  4,000,000  of  these  blacks,  who. 


*  Par.  Deb.,  Hansard,  3  S.  V.  122,  p.  384. 

f  Nearly  a  fourth  part  of  the  whole  adult  population  of  Trinidad  are  returned 
by  the  last  census  as  living  in  idleness.  (See  Lord  Harris's  dispatch,  May  18, 
1852.)  If  we  compare  this  with  Great  Britain  there  are  two  hundred  and  fifty 
persons  among  the  poor  population  of  Trinidad  to  eight  amOng  the  wealthy  of 
Great  Britain  who  are  idlers— the  difference  is,  the  one  race  likes,  and  the  other 
hates  work  ;  and  a  people  who  will  not  work  must  be  slaves — or,  as  St.  Paul  says, 
in  substance,  whoever  will  not  work,  let  him  not  eat. 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  1 1 9 

as  slaves,  are  eminently  useful  to  themselves  and  to  Inimanity 
at  large.  To  emancipate  them  is  to  convert  4,000,000  jirodnc- 
tive  workers  into  as  nmny  idle  paupers.  Who  is  to  support 
those  paupers  in  their  idleness,  which  with  them  is  synonymous 
witli  freedom?  In  the  West  Indies  they  eat  the  spontaneous 
fruits  of  the  earth.  In  the  United  States  there  are  none  for 
them  to  eat.  That  the  blacks  are  now  kept  to  work  as  North- 
ern white  apprentices  tuid  paupers  are  kept  to  work,  for  their 
own  and  society's  benefit,  is  true.  In  that  respect  the  institu- 
tion operates  as  a  great  workhouse,  where  the  naturally  idle 
are  compelled  to  contribute  their  share  to  the  services  of  man- 
kind. 

The  highest  rewards,  political  and  social,  have  been,-  in  the 
island  of  Jamaica,  vainly  held  out  to  the  black  to  induce  him 
to  work.  John  Bigelow,  Esq.,  in  his  letters  to  the  Koehing 
Post^  afterwards  embodied  in  a  book  on  the  condition  of  Ja- 
maica, with  the  best  intentions  ill  the  world  to  favor  the  black, 
showed  conclusively  that  labor  is  the  last  thing  he  will  under- 
take. The  knd  is,  if  not  the  most  prolific,  at  least  as  much  so 
as  any  in  the  world.  It  may  be  bought  from  $5  to  $10  per 
acre,  and  the  possession  of  five  acres  confers  the  right  of  voting, 
and  eligibility  to  public  offices.  The  planters  oft'er  freely  $1.50 
per  day  for  labor ;  16  days'  labor  will  buy  such  a  piece  of 
land,  and  the  market  of  Kingston  offers  a  great  demand  for 
vegetables  at  all  times.  These  facts,  stated  by  Mr.  Bigelow, 
place  independence  within  the  reach  of  every  black.  Yet 
what  are  the  results  ?  There  has  been  no  increase  of  black 
voters  in  the  last  20  years.  The  land  runs  wild.  Kingston  gets 
its  vegetables  from  the  United  States,  even  from  New  York, 
and  50,000  coolies  have  been  imported  to  raise  sugar  on  the 
plantations — the  sensual  black,  meanwhile,  basking  in  the  sun, 
and  feeding  on  yams  and  pumpkins.  That  is  black  nature. 
The  omnipotent  Deity,  who  placed  those  blacks  under  white 
control,  will  not  hold  those  guiltless  who  have,  from  ho])C  of 
greater  gain,  shirked  from  the  resj»onsibility  of  mastei's,  and  al- 
lowed the  blacks  to  sink  back  to  their  savage  condition. 

Freedom  for  the  blacks  in  the  United  States  is  quite  a  dill'er- 
ent  affair,  since  they  cannot  there  exist  without  labor.  Never- 
theless, the  process  of  emancipation  goes  on  at  a  rate  of  which 
the  public  are  not  fully  apjui^ed.  The  following  table  of  num- 
ber of  free  and  bond  blacks  in  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  is 
composed  of  the  returns  of  the  federal  census : 


120 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


i 

iiiS; 

1 

:;i;:;il 

- 

1 

i 

H 

^  !^    " 

'"•^-'gs 

1 

^1 

|§Rl8igi2 

i  ' 

i 

Pi 

i 

N«  :  : 

-^m 

j  s 

■If 

iiSii'ilii 

;;::;;;  |  |  : 

i 

t 

-IF 

S    IS523C~i  iSS? 
2    ^g''^'|||g  -^fsfi 

?  :32as 

5  •'""S|2' 

1  g§; 
1 

um 

5| 

11 

1  ;-ssg 

i  181= 

'■'■'■'■'■'■'■\ 

8    2 

an 

1 

1 :  iSsi 

5  ■  :53« 

5 

3  :  :t2fe 

iSiP 

;:;;;;;i3  ? 

H 

<«• 

i""  :  . 

-IP 

1  SiiSgSi  ;  ;s 

i 

■  i 

u 

1  i§g^3§i ;  is 

o    COS    o^co-  :  : 

M;SS: 

1    2§: 

1 

if. 

1 

i 

1 

:    1 

si 

m\\\ 

:  :  :i3  : 

1 

mnm: 

;  1 

■  s 

t 

a 

3 

llip 

^ 

s 

i 

i 

iii! 
fllJ 

=  1 

1 

m 

=  :  J  j  :  :•- 

liillli 

1 

■5 

Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  I*r(>Jit.'<.  1  l>  I 

This  table  comprises  many  singular  facts  not  generally  Ixtriic 
in  mind.  The  legal  abolition  of  slavery  at  the  North,  it  ap- 
pears, did  not  extinguish  the  slaves.  It  also  appears  that  the 
free  blacks  gain  rapidly  on  the  slave  population,  even  at  the 
South.  Nor  could  all  the  black  laws  of  the  Nortlnvcst  terri- 
tory keep  blacks  out  of  Ohio  and  Illinois.  The  old,  worthless, 
and  thieving  blacks  will  penetrate  across  the  borders,  to  prey 
upon  the  white  settlers. 

The  reniai-kable  fact  in  the  abo\c  table  is  the  increase  of  free 
blacks  at  the  South,  where  they  choose  to  remain,  notwith- 
standing all  the  blandishments  of  the  North.  The  increase  of 
that  class  in  Maryland,  Delaware,  and  Virginia,  is  worthy  of 
observation.  In  Delaware  the  black  population  may  be  said  to 
be  all  free.  In  Maryland  they  were  8  per  cent,  of  the  slaves  in 
1790,  and  have  since  gained  at  each  census,  until  they  are  80 
per  cent,  in  1850.  They  do  not  migrate,  and  this  fact  is  char- 
acteristi.c  of  the  race.  Being  without  energy  they  dislike  any 
exertion,  even  the  requisite  daily  employtnent,  far  more  so  mi- 
gration to  better  their  condition.  If  we  compare  the  aggre- 
gate progress  of  the  blacks  in  the  three  sections,  the  result  is  as 
follows : 

Blacks  in  the  United  States. 

, South > 

NouTii.            Wkst.  Free.  SLive. 

ngo 66.080  32,635  637,047 

1800 82.800  500         61.241         837. 0Q3 

1810 103.237  3.454  108.265  1,163,854 

1820 1 13.961  8,040  i35,3o4  1, 524.580 

i83o I25,2i3  i5.8gi  182.078  2,oo5,475 

,840 144,321  2g.523  2i5.568  2.486,22£ 

i85o i5o,i42  46,852  238,737  3,2o4.o5i 

The  Northern  black  population  progresses  at  a  very  slow 
pace,  notwithstanding  the  aid  it  acquires  by  migration.  The 
free  blacks  at  the  South,  on  the  other  hand,  increase  rapidly, 
notwithstanding  some  loss  by  migration.  Nevertheless,  the 
aggregate  increase  at  the  North  is  fiir  less  than  the  natural  in- 
crease of  the  whites.  If  the  black  race  have  been  petted  any- 
where on  the  face  of  the  earth,  it  has  been  in  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut.  Yet  the  fact  shows  that  in 
1820  t^re  were  in  those  States  18,559  blacks.  30  years  after, 
in  1850,  there  were  20,427,  an  increase  of  less  than  10  per  cent, 
in  30  years.  In  Massachusetts  alone  there  w'ere,  in  1800,  0,452 
blacks ;  in  1850  these  had  increased  to  9,060— of  tliese  only 
5,699  were  born  in  the  State,  3,361   having  come  iVom  oilier 


122  SoutJiern  Wealth  and  Nm'thern  Profits. 

States,  and  thus  the  native  blacks  in  50  years  declined  752  in 
actual  numbers. 

It  is  no  doubt  the  fact  that  the  Is'orthern  climate  is  too  rigor- 
ous for  the  black  nature,  and  that  they  do  not  increase  for  that 
among  other  reasons,  but  the  great  fact  is,  that  no  matter  how 
high  negro  worship  may  run  at  the  E"orth,  and  how  much  so- 
ever the  people  of  Massachusetts  are  disposed  to  educate,  patron- 
ize, equalize,  and  evangelize  the  black  race,  they  still  inexoi-a- 
bly  require  industry  from  him  as  one  of  the  virtues.  Tluit, 
however,  in  the  view  of  the  black,  counteracts  all  else  that  can 
be  done  for  him.  To  live  in  Massachusetts  not  only  is  industry 
required,  but  a  good  deal  of  it,  added  to  foresight  and  pru- 
dence, three  qualities  entirely  foreign  to  the  black  nature. 
After  all  they  have  done  for  the  black  race,  the  New  England 
philanthropy  can  get  only  a  very  scant  supply  of  house-servants 
out  of  it.  The  fact  of  the  small  increase  of  blacks  in  a  region 
where  so  many  advantages  are  held  out  to  him,  pontrasts 
strongly  with  his  rapid  increase  in  sectir)ns  where  his  white 
friends  allege  he  suffers  great  hardships. 

The  census  of  1840  gave  some  very  interesting  facts  in  rela- 
tion to  the  afflictions  of  the  white  and  black  race  in  respect  of 
being  deaf  and  dumb,  blind  and  insane.  The  following  are  the 
jBgures  taken  from  the  census,  arranged  in  parallels  of  latitude, 
as  nearly  as  may  be  : 

Blacks. — Deaf  and  Diwib,  Blind,  and  Insane. 

Ratio  of 

Ko.        Deaf  &  Dumb.       Blind.         Insane.  In.-<ane. 

Louisiana ig3,554                  17     ,            36                 45  4,3io 

Florida 26,534                   2                  10                  12  2,211 

Mississippi 196,580                  28                 69                 82  2,897 

Alabama 235,371                  53                 96                I25  2,011 

Georgia 283,697                 64                i3i                i34  2,117 

South  Carolina 335,3i4                 7^                i56                187  2,447 

Latitude,  3o  to  34 1,291,250  242  5i8  535  2,4i3 

Virginia 493, io5  i5o  466  384  1,219 

North  Carolina 268,549  74  167  221  i,245 

Tennessee i88,583  67  99  i52  1,240 

Kentucky 189.575  77  141  180  i,oJi 

Missouri 59,814  27  42  68  879 

Maryland i5i,8i5  66  191  i4i  2  oo5 

Delaware 19,324  8  18  28  700 

Latitude,  34  to  38  ....   1,372,693  469   '  1,124  I,i74  1,17° 

Khode  Island 3,238  3  i  i3  249 

Connecticut 8,io5  8  i3  44  184 

New  Jersey •. 21,718  i5  26  73  297 

Pennsylvania ♦. .  47,918  5i  96  187  256 

Ohio 17,345  33  33  i65  io5 

Indiana 7,168  i5  19  75  955 

Illinois 3.929  24  10  79  ^97 

Iowa 188  4  3  4  47 

Latitude,  38  to  42 109.609  i53  201  54c  2o3 


Smithern  Wealth  and  Northern  Projit.s. 


123 


No.        Deaf  Jk  Dumb.       Blind.  Insane.  Jniianf. 

Maine i,355  i3  lo  94  ,4.4 

Massachusetts 8,666  17  12  200  ii  3 

New  Ilampskirc 787  9  3  19  jsia 

Vermont 780  2  2  i3  56.i 

New  York 5o,o3i  68  91  194  212 

Miehigan 707  2  4  26  27!a 

Wisconsin 196  ..  ..  3  65.2 

Latitude,  42  to  46 62,421  loi  i32  049  ii5. 

This  table  presents  extraordinary  results ;  the  number  of 
insane  diminishes  in  the  exact  ratio  in  which  we  proceed 
Soutli,  with  the  exception  of  some  of  the  "Western  States, 
wliere  the  blacks  have  mostly  arrived  in  the  State,  and  the 
infirm  class  do  not  accompany  the  others.  Talcing  the  paral- 
lels of  latitude,  the  ratio  of  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind  to  llie  whole 
number  is  as  follows  : 

Latitude,  Latitude,  Latitude,  Latitude, 

30  to  84.  84  to  3S.  3S  to  42.  42  to  4G. 

Deaf,  Dumb,  and  Blind 1  to  1,200  i  to     870  i  to  309  i  to  255 

Insane i   "  2,4i3  i  "  1,170  i  "  2o3  1   '■  ii5 

These  facts  were  disclosed  by  the  census  of  1840,  and  were 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  public  in  an  article  in  the 
"Democratic  Eeview,"  in  1845,  by  the  present  writer.  At- 
tempts were  immediately  made  to  impeach  the  census  return 
five  years  after  it  M-as  taken,  in  order  to  invalidate  its  testi- 
mony. It  was  stated  that  in  some  towns  of  Massachusetts, 
there  were  more  insane  blacks  reported  than  the  Mdiole  black 
population  consisted  of.  The  fact  that  the  insane  blacks  had, 
meantime,  been  removed  to  asylums,  it  was  not,  however, 
thought  worth  while  to  mention.  Nevertheless,  the  eifort  pre- 
vented a  correct  return  for  the  seventh  census.  That  some 
errors  did  occur  in  taking  the  census  is,  no  doubt,  true;  but 
its  truthfulness  in  the  aggregate  is  manifest  from  the  fact  it 
discloses.  No,  not  only  do  the  insane,  but  the  other  afilictcd 
classes  also  increase  in  exact  proportion  to  the  climate,  li' 
important  errors  occurred,  they  could  not  have  been  made  in 
such  regular  gradation.  The  fact,  however,  of  the  greater 
infirmity  of  the  black  race  in  Northern  climes  thus  made 
manifest,  is  only  corroborative  of  the  small  increase  of  the 
class,  and  of  the  testimony  of  the  puljlic  hospitals.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  Massachusetts  State  returns,  generally  so 
useful  and  so  accurate,  should  have  ceased  to  distinguish  ])c- 
tween  the  black  and  white  races.  If  the  returns  did  so  dis- 
tinguisli,  important  scientific  research  would  be  aided,  without 


124  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

in  any  degree  degrading  the  blacks.  Omitting  to  distinguish 
thein  on  paper  does  not  efface  the  indelible  distinction  which 
the  Almighty  has  imprinted  on  them.  The  endeavor  to 
smother  up  inquiry  in  relation  to  ethnological  facts,  savors 
a  good  deal  of  fear  lest  theories  are  not  founded  on  solid 
foundations.  If  the  truth  makes  against  the  black  and  mixed 
races,  why  cling  to  error?  If  it  makes  in  their  favor,  by  all 
means  let  it  be  developed.  One  reason  of  the  greater  infirmity 
of  the  blacks  at  the  E"oi'th  is,  that  they  are  a  liybrid  race,  and 
have  always  the  w^ell-known  tendency  of  such  races  to  die  out, 
and  revert  to  the  original  stock.  It  is  evident  from  the  facts 
collated,  th^t  the  black  race,  even  made  entirely  free,  will 
never  come  north  if  they  can  help  it. 

If  we,  however,  take  the  numbers  confined  in  the  jails  of 
each  section  at  the  date  of  the  census  of  1850,  we  have  the 
following  extraordinary  results : 

Blach  No.  in                                      miite  No.  in 

population.  jail.  One  in  population.             jail.  One  in 

North i5o,i42  478  3io  8,342.938  2,710  3,ooo 

West 46,852  87  542  5.4i3,o39               760  7,000 

South 3,442,788  323  10,000  6,222,418  1,288  5,000 

■     Total 3,639,782  888  19,978,395  4,758 

The  North  again  presents  the  most  extraordinary  results  for 
the  morals  of  that  race,  in  a  region  where  they  are  by  far  the 
most  petted  of  the  community. 

The  white  criminals  confined  at  the  ISTorth  were  as  one  to 
3,000  of  the  whole.  It  is  true  that  a  large  portion  of  these 
were  foreign  born,  showing  that  if  the  North  has  advantages 
from  immigration,  it  has  also  disadvantages.  At  the  West  the 
proportion  is  less  than  in  the  other  sections  for  the  white  race ; 
wdien  we  come  to  the  blacks,  however,  we  find  that  at  the 
Nortli  one  out  of  every  310  is  in  jail ;  at  the  West,  one  out  of 
.542  is  in  jail;  and  the  South,  one  in  10,000  of  all;  but  con- 
fined to  the  free  blacks,  it  is  one  in  800. 

The  black  race  is  more  vicious  at  the  North,  as  a  necessity 
of  its  position ;  it  will  not  work ;  it  cannot  compete  with  the 
white  man,  and  crime  is  its  ready  support !  If  they  had  suffi 
cient  energy  to  migrate  at  all,  they  would  tend  southward, 
where  nature  will  aid  them  in  the  indulgence  of  sensual  idle- 
ness. \  It  is  probable  that  the  Almighty  has  in  store  singular 
and  severe  manifestations  of  His  wrath  against  those  self- 
righteous  persons,  who,  in   their  own   blinded   folly,  seek  to 


SoutJiern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  125 

thwart  His  manifest  intentions  to  exalt  botli  and  all  races 
through  the  medium  of  black  servitude  to  white  intelligojico. 
By  so  doing,  they  strive  to  carry  both  back  to  the  barbarism 
of  the  Middle  Ages./  It  is,  no  doubt,  the  case  that  the  condi- 
tion of  servitude  admits  of  many  modifications  for  the  better. 
The  most  important  improvement  needed  is  to  exact  more  in- 
dustry from  the  blacks.  Tliose  employed  in  cities  and  as 
house-servants  are  notoriously  indolent.  Persons  who  visit 
the  South  are  at  once  impressed  with  this  fact.  It  is  probably 
owing,  in  some  degree,  to  the  enervating  effects  of  climate 
which  takes  from  the  energy  required  to  direct  black  labor. 
There  are  vices  and  hardships  in  the  system,  it  is  true ;  but 
there  is  no  state  of  humanity  exempt  from  these  afflictions. 
The  separation  of  families,  and  the  sundering  of  domestic  tics 
through  the  vicissitudes  of  life,  are  far  less  frequent  among  the 
black  than  among  the  white  races.  The  Irish  nation  endures 
more  misery  from  this  source  in  a  single  year  than  afflicts  the 
blacks  in  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  records  of  the  courts 
show  that  freedom  is  no  bar  against  rape,  seduction,  and  kin- 
dred villanies.  If  the  blacks  suffer  least  in  this  respect,  they 
have  also  far  less  sensibility  in  relation  to  it  when  it  occurs. 

That  the  free  black  race  is  a  nuisance  in  whatever  section  it 
settles,  is  sufficiently  manifest,  not  only  from  the  natural  repul- 
sion of  the  community,  but  from  the  action  of  State  Legisla- 
tures. Ohio  early  adopted  laws  to  exclude  them  from  her  soil, 
but  repealed  them  to  suit  political  parties  during  the  "  free- 
soiV  campaign  of  18.50.  The  Northern  States  of  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, Oregon,  and  Minnesota,  have  by  law  excluded  them  from 
their  territories.  The  Legislature  of  Missouri  has  pnssed  a  law 
to  the  same  effect.  The  State  of  Louisiana  has  also  by  law 
forbidden  any  free  blacks  to  come  into  the  State,  and  Arkan- 
sas has  by  law  compelled  the  free  blacks  to  leave  the  State  or 
be  enslaved.  This  disposition  is  extending  even  with  the  small 
number  of  negroes  that  are  now  free,  and  any  accumulation 
of  their  numbers  would,  as  in  the  "West  Indies,  immediately 
evolve  a  war  of  races  that  would  only  end  in  the  extermination 
of  one.  The  antipathy  is  now  strongly  marked  between  them, 
and  it  requires  only  an  increase  in  numbers  to  develop  those 
characteristics  of  the  blacks,  which  would  make  peace  with 
them  impossible. 


126  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 


CHAPTER   X. 

ACCUMULATION. 

We  have  followed  briefly  the  progress  which  each  national 
section  has  made  in  the  production  of  wealth,  and  have 
shown  that  the  greatest  results,  by  all  odds,  have  attended  the 
Southern  system.  When  we  turn,  however,  to  accumulation 
and  possession,  a  different  state  of  aflfairs  presents  itself.  ITeither 
the  West  nor  the  South  hold  much  of  what  they  produce. 
Wealth  once  extracted  from  the  soil  by  labor,  evinces  a  strong 
affinity  for  the  l^orth  and  East,  and  there  piles  up  in  a  magni- 
tude which  dazzles  the  observer.  As  the  opulent  always  be- 
come purse-proud,  so  does  the  affluent  ISTorth  regard  with  a 
degree  of  haughtiness  the  very  useful  sections  which  pom- 
riches  into  her  lap.  Exercising  the  prerogative  of  wealth  she 
assumes  the  right  to  dictate  manners  and  morality  to  those  who 
are  less  thrifty  in  worldly  matters.  It  is  the  nature  of  capital 
to  accumulate,  and  the  more  so  when  the  laws  are  so  framed 
as  to  favor  that  accumulation.  From  the  earliest  i^eriod  of  the 
government  the  federal  revenues  have  been  derived  from  duties 
on  goods  imported.  The  duties  have  not  been  levied  with  a 
single  view  to  revenue,  but  have  been  so  adjusted  as  to  afford 
the  largest  protection  to  Northern  manufactures.  In  other 
words,  to  tax  the  consumers  of  goods  West  and  South  for  the 
support  of  Eastern  manufactures.  The  amount  of  customs  so 
collected  in  the  past  70  years  reaches  1100  millions  of  dollars, 
a  large  portion  of  which  was  disbursed  at  the  North.  This  sum 
has  been  paid  mostly  by  the  South  and  West  into  the  federal 
treasury,  on  goods  imported.  The  sum  of  these  may  be  20  per 
cent,  of  the  quantity  home  manufactured,  and  the  value  ot 
which  has  been  increased  in  the  ratio  of  the  duty.  If,  how- 
ever, it  is  assumed  that  the  home-made  goods  have  been  en- 
hanced in  value  only  to  the  extent  of  the  customs  revenue, 
then  the  Eastern  manufacturers  have  obtained  1100  millions  of 
dollars  as  tribute  from  the  South  and  West.  That  large  sum 
^las  been  taken  from  agricultural  industry  and  added  to  manu- 
facturing industry.  The  fisheries  of  the  Eastern  States  drew 
$5,000,000  as  bounties  paid  to  those  engaged  in  them,  out  of 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Projits.  127 

the  federal  treasuiy,  to  the  date  of  the  abolition  of  those  boun- 
ties. T]ie  North  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  the  carrying  trade, 
foreign  vessels  being  exchidcd.  These,  and  other  circnni- 
stanees  drew  the  snrplns  capital  from  the  agricnltnrist  into  the 
coffers  of  the  manufactnrer.  The  accumnlation  of  cajjital  thns 
brought  about,  became  invested  in  stocks,  banks,  insurance 
companies,  all  of  Avliich  drew  large  profits  on  credits  granted  to 
the  other  sections.  The  Nortli  has  $000,000,000  so  invested,  of 
which  $350,318,000  are  in  banks  alone,  which  draws  $00,0(10,000 
per  annum  from  the  earnings  of  the  other  sections.  The  fre- 
quent pilgrimages  from  all  sections  to  the  Eastern  cities  for  the 
purchase  of  goods,  and  in  pursuit  of  pleasure,  form  a  large  item 
of  cost  charged  upon  goods,  that  is  paid  by  the  consnmei-.  The 
profits  of  other  business  may  be  approximated  as  follows : 

Bounties  to  fisheries,  per  annum $i,5oo,ooo 

Customs,  per  annum,  disbursed  at  the  North 40,000,000 

Profits  of  Manufacturers 3o,ooo,ooa 

"        Importers 16,000,000 

"        Shipping,  imports  and  exports 40,000.000 

"  on  Travellers 60,000,000 

"  of  Teachers,  and  others,  at  the  South,  sent  North.  5, 000,000 

"        Agents,  brokers,  commissions,  &c 10,000,000 

'        Capital  drawn  from  the  South 3o,ooo,ooo 

Total  from  these  sources Sj3i ,5oo,ooo 

k  This  is  an  approximation  of  the  annual  load  which  Southern 
industry  is  required  to  carry,  and  the  means  of  paying  it  de- 
pends upon  black  labor.  The  heavy  drain  of  capital  thus  cre- 
ated preN;£i^s  art  accumulation  at  the  South,  and  promotes  it 
as  eff'^ctively  at  the  North,  where  every  such  accumulation 
only  accelerates  the  drain.  If  we  take  the  aggregate  of  these 
items  for  10  years  only,  the  result  is  the  enormous  sum  of 
$2,315,000,000,  and  allowing  20  per  cent,  of  the  sum  only  as 
the  aggregate  of  the  50  previous  years,  the  amount  is  2770 
millions  of  dollars  earned  at  the  South,  and  added  to  Northern 
accumulation.  The  fishing  bounties  alone,  as  we  have  seen, 
reach  $12,944,000,  mostly  paid  to  Maine  and  Massachusetts.  It 
is  not,  therefore,  a  matter  of  surprise  if  we  find  the  North  very 
rich,  and  the  South  showing  much  slower  accumulation.  No 
matter  how  great  may  be  the  production  of  wealth  at  the 
South  it  pours  off"  into  Northern  coff'ers  as  rapidly  as  it  is  cre- 
ated, and,  singularly  enough,  the  recipients  of  that  wealth  are 
continually  upbraiding  the  South  with  its  creation.  As  we 
have  seen,  in  the  quotation  from  the  London  Times,  conlainod 
in  a  fonncT  chapter,  ^'nglish  common-sense  detects  the  absurd- 


128  Southern  Wealth  and  N'orthern  Profits. 

ity,  not  to  say  indecency,  of  such  conduct,  and  is  disposed,  at 
least,  to  be  civil  until  they  can  do  better. 

If  we  take  the  census  figures  for  the  amount  of  wealth  in  the 
Union,  distinguishing  real  from  personal,  we  have  the  follow- 
ing results.  To  the  figures  as  returned  by  the  census-makers, 
the  ccnnmissioner,  Mr.  De  Bow,  added  a  "  true"  value. 

Real.  Personal.  Total.  True. 

North $i,835,o63,6i3  §546,768,966  $2,881,782,579  $2,095,833,338 

West 619.154.2S7  195.054.073  8i5.2o3,36o  1,022,948,262 

South 1,445,008,447  1,381,727,523  2,825,735,970  •3,947,7^1.366 


Total §3,899,226,347      §2,125,440,562        $6,024,666,909        §7,066,562,966 

The  Southern  figures  for  personal  pro^^erty  include  the  slave 
propert}^,  and  in  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  incendiary 
partisan  statistics  have  been  propagated,  we  may  refer  to 
"  Helper's  Crisis."  The  above  oflicial  figures  give^  it  will  be 
seen  $1,445,008,447  as  the  real  property  at  the  South,  and 
$1,381,727,523  as  the  personal,  including  slaves.  "Helper's 
Crisis,"  p.  47,  adds  these  two  sums  together,  as  follows  : 

Valuation  at  the  South §2,936,000,737 

Deduct  value  of  slaves 1,600,000.000 


True  net  value  of  the  Slave  States §1,336,090.737 

It  will  be  observed  tliat  in  pretending  to  give  the  census 
figures  he  deducts,  for  the  value  of  "slaves"  alone,  a  sum  218 
millions  greater  than  the  census  gave  for  all  the  personal  prop- 
erty, including  slaves,  and  the  operation  is  disguised  by  bring- 
ing the  real  and  personal  valuations  together. 

The  means  of  determining  the  increase  of  wealth  are  not 
very  definite.  If  there  had  been  a  valuation  at  the  date  of  each 
national  census  the  task  of  comparison  would  have  been  light. 
But  this  has  not  been  the  case. 

On  the  14th  July,  1798,  Congress  by  law  imposed  a  tax  of 
$2,000,000  upon  dwelling-houses,  farm-lands,  and  slaves  be- 
tween the  ages  of  12  and  50.  In  consequence  of  this  tax,  a 
valuation  took  place  of  lands  and  houses  separately.  In  1815 
a  new  valuation  of  houses,  lands,  and  slaves  took  place  to- 
gether. 

The  valuation  of  lands  took  place  again  by  the  census  of 
1850,  and  the  comparison  of 'the  number  of  acres  and  valuation 
at  both  periods,  is  as  follows  : 


■Southern  Wealth  and  JSforthern  Prvfts.  120 

1798 .  , 18SO . 

No.  of  acres.           Valuation.  Jfo.  of  acres.  Valuation. 

New  Hampshire 3,749061          $19,028,108     ■       3,392.414  $55,245,997 

Maine I   t  83i  6j8            in"i^'o  j /^.SnS.SoB  54.K64,748 

Ma.-^sachusetts p,SJi,628            39,-.a3.6^2  ^  3^336;o;j  109,076,^47 

Rhode  Island 565,844              8,o82,355  563,038  17.070,802 

Connecticut 2,649,149            4o,i63,955  2,383.879  72,726,422 

Vermont 4,9'8,722            i5, 165.484  4,125,822  63,367.237 

New  York 16,414, 5io            74.883,075  19,119,088  554,546,642 

New  Jersey 2,788.282            27,287.981  2,752,946  i2o,237,5ii 

Pennsylvania 11,959,835            72,824,852  14,923,347  4o7.876,o<v) 

Delaware 1,074,105              4,o53,248  956,i44  i8,H,So,o3i 

Maryland 5,444,272            2i,634,oo4  4,634,35o  87,178,515 

Virarinia 40,428,644            59,976,860  26,02, 3ii  216.401,444 

North  Carolina 20,956,467            27.909,479  20,996,987  67. 801.766 

South  Carolina 9.772,587            12.456,720  16,217,700  82,4,31.684 

Georgia i3. 534.159            io.263,5o6  22,821,379  q5.753,445 

Kentucky 17,674,634            20.268, 325  22,340,748  164,330,262 

Tennessee 3,951,357              5,847,662  18,984,022  97,851,212 

Total 163,746,686       $479,293,263  188,286,480  $2,275,730,124 

Dividing  the  Kortliern  from  the  Southern  States,  the  airirrc- 
gates  of  each  compare  as  follows  : 


-&»• 


, South. ,  , North. , 

Acrei.                       Value.  Acre*.                        Value. 

1798 112,869,655          $162,409,811  5o,877,o3i              $3i6,883,452 

i85o i33, 113,641            820,718,319  55,172,839             i,455,oii,8o5 

Increase $658,3o8,5o8  $i,i38,i28,353 

The  land  at  the  North  has  increased  $20  per  acre,  and  the 
land  at  the  South  has  increased  $4  per  acre.  The  concentra- 
tion of  manufactures  and  commerce  has  given  1100  millions 
of  dollars  to  the  value  of  land  in  the  Northern  States,  in  50 
yeai-s.  At  the  South,  where  the  eight  States  named  embrace 
about  one-half  the  Slave  States,  the  growing  value  of  the  ])rod- 
\ict  only  has  been  relied  on  to  raise  the  value  of  the  land.  If 
we  take  the  remaining  Southern  States,  that  have  grown  Mp 
since  the  valuation  of  1T98,  but  which  are  reported  in  the  cen- 
sus of  1850,  the  result  is  as  follows  : 

Acres.  ValuA. 

Old  States,  as  above Ii3,ii2,64i  1820,718,319 

New    "      per  census 47,371,907  234,7o3,237 

Total  South,  i85o 180,485,548  $i,o55,42i,556 

The  South  has  thus  added  to  the  extent  of  its  territory,  and 
raised  the  value  of  the  whole  to  1055  millions.  Those  47,371. 'Jo7 
acres  that  have  been  added  since  1798,  were  bought  of  the  Fed- 
eral government  foa-  about  $60,000,000,  which  has  thus  been 
contributed  to  the  Federal  expenses  by  slave-labor.  We  now 
come  to  the  value  of  the  slaves.     These,  by  tiie  law  of  1708, 

9 


130  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.   . 

were  taxed  50  cents  each.  In  1815  the  tax  was  again  levied 
upon  slaves,  and  they  were  included,  as  the  Secretary  ex- 
pressed it,  because  they  increased  the  ability  of  the  State  to 
pay.  The  valuation  of  the  blacks  was  then  at  $250  each,  as 
follows : 

Ko.  Each.  Value. 


1708 

$200 
25o 
55o 

^178,608,200 

29[. 973,600 

i,6o3, 758,656 

i8?5::::::;:::. :::::::::;. 

i85o 

..   1,163,854 
..  3,204,3i3 

..   2,311,272 

Increase  from  1798... 

$i,425,i5o,456 

Total  increase  in  value 

of  land  and  sla% 

es 

..     2,318,162,201 

We  have  seen,  in  a  former  chapter,  that  the  product  of  these 
lands  and  slaves,  sent  out  of  the  country,  is  $265,000,000,  or 
11  per  cent,  of  the  value.  That  is,  the  value  here  given  is 
equal  to  nine  years'  purchase ;  but  the  other  products  of  the 
slaves  and  lands  support  the  workers  and  their  masters.  Thus 
this  increased  value  of  the  land  and  hands  is  represented  by 
the  actual  exchangeable  productions,  although  the  proceeds 
of  those  productions  pour  off  into  Northern  coffers.  At  the 
North,  55  million  acres  have  increased  $1,138,128,253,  on  ac- 
count of  their  pi-oximity  to  those  manufacturing  and  commer- 
cial establishments  that  are  employed  by  Southern  expendi- 
tures and  purchases  of  goods.  That  value  is  the  reflection  of 
Southern  industry.  The  manufacturing  capital  that  has  ac- 
cumulated at  the  North  is  to  be  added  to  the  value  of  city 
property.  If  we  now  take  the  value  of  Western  lands  from 
the  census  of  1850,  we  have  the  sum  of  67,420,583  acres,  val- 
ued at  $760,299,733.  We  may  now  include  in  the  valuation 
the  houses  and  improvements  of  the  three  sections,  as  follows : 

Real  Estate  Valuation. 

irOS.  1814-15.  1S50. 

North ;?422, 271.673  ?>i,o36,3i9,5i3  Si,835,o63,6i3 

South 197,705,574  533.990,496  1,445,008,447 

West 6i,347,2i5  619,154,287 

Total S;6i9,977,247  .  §i,63i,657,224  §3,899,226,347 

Such  has  been  the  progress  of  valuation  in  each  section. 
At  the  North,  the  same  extent  of  land  has  received  a  value  of 
1400  millions  additional.  At  the  South  and  West,  the  area 
has  extended  as  it  has  increased  in  value. 

If  we  turn  to  the  census  we  find  the  valuation  of  farms  and 
farm  implements  in  each  section  to  have  been  as  follows: 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Pr<>Jit.-<.  \:\\ 

Acres  of  Land  Inqyrovcd. —  Value  of  Farms  and  Farm  Implements. 

Acre>i  Viilueof  Value  <(f 

Arm.  tmprored.  farms.  farmimpru. 

Maine 2o,33o.24o  2,039,606  ^54,861,748  1:2,284,557 

New  Hampshire 5,939.200  2,25i,488  55,245.997  2,3i4,'i25 

Vermont 6,535, 58o  2,601,400  63,367,227  2,739',282 

MassiK'hnsitts 4.992,000  2,i33,436  109.076.347  3,209*584 

Rhode  I.-^laiid 825.840  356,487  17.070,802  497,201 

Connecticut 2,991,360  1,768,178  72,726,422  1,892,541 

New  York 3o,o8o,ooo  12,408,964  554,546,642  22,084,926 

New  Jersey 5,324, 800  1,767,991  120,237,511  4,425,'no3 

Pennsylvania 29,440,000  8,628,619  407,876,099  14,722,541 

TotalNorth 106,459,020  33,956,i58         |;i, 455,008,796        $64,170,160 

Ohio 26,676,960  9.861,493  368,768,603  12.760,685 

Indiana 21,637,760  6,046.643  i36,385,i73  6,704,444 

Illinois 35,359,200  5,039,545  06,133,290  6,4o5,6()i 

Michigan 36,595,620  1.92^,110  61,872,446  2,891,371 

Wisconsin 34,Dii,86o  j, 040,499  28,528.663  1,641,668 

Iowa 32,684,960  824.682  £6,667,667  1,172,869 

California 99,827,200  32,464  3,874,041  103,483 

Territories 631,021,740  320.416  4,976,839  36i,662 

TotalWest 917,616,260  24,089,742  $697,186,522.     |i32,o3i,533 

Delaware i,366,8oo  680,862  i8,88o,o3i  610,279 

Maryland 7,119,360  2,797.906  87,178,546  2,463,44J 

District  of  Columbia 16,267  1,730,460  40.220 

Virfrinia 39,166,280  io,36o,i35  216,401, 543  7,021,772 

North  Carolina 32. 460.660  5,463,976  67,891,766  3,93i,532 

South  Carolina 18,806.400  4,072.661  82,43i,684  4,i36,364 

Gcorjiia 37,120,000  6,378,479  96,763.446  6,894,  i5o 

Florida 37,931,600  349.049  6,323,109  668,795 

Alabama 32,027,490  4. 435, 614  64,323.224  5.i25,6(j3 

Mississippi 30,179,840  3,444,358  64.738.634  6,762,927 

Loui-siana 26,403,200  1,690.026  76,814,398  11,676,918 

Texas £62,002,600  643,976  i6,56o,oo8  2,161,704 

Arkansas 33,406,720  781,530  16,266,245  1.601,296 

Tennessee 29.184.000  6, 176, £73  97,861,212  5,36o,2io 

Kentucky..., 24,116,200  6,968,270  £36.021,262  5,169,037 

Missouri 43,i23,2oo  2,938,426  63,225,543  3,98£,525 

Total  South 544,926,720  54,986,7£4         $i,f  19,380,109        $75,385,945 

Toul 1,568,901,000        ii3,o32,6i4        $3,271,676,426      $i5i,587,638 

These  figures  are  from  the  census,  and  they  show  us  tliiit 
farm  lands  at  the  South  are  not  much  hehiiid  the  West,  but 
tlioy  give  an  inordinate  vahie  to  the  farms  of  the  Xorth.  Seem- 
ingly the  lands  are  valued  higher  in  proportion  to  tiieir  sterility. 
The  average  value  of  the  farm  lands  of  the  North  is  $42  per 
acre,  at  the  West  $29,  and  at  the  South  $20  for  improved  lands. 
The  value  of  farm  implements  is  as  great  at  the  South,  nearly, 
as  in  b)th  the  other  sections.  In  Louisiana  they  nearly  reach 
the  value  of  those  in  Ohio.  Comparing  the  agricultural  West 
with  the  agricultural  South,  we  have  results  as  fdllows : 

Improved  VaUut/arm  Valu* 

area.  landn.  JmpUmenU. 

West 24,089,742  $697,186,622  $32,o3i,53? 

South 54,986,714  £,£  19,380,109  76,386,945 

In  favor  of  the  South .. .     30,897,972  $422,£93,587  $43,354,412 


132  Southern  Wealth  and  Nwthern  Profits, 

The  West,  as  we  liave  seen,  has  received  600,000  foreign  im- 
migrants, and  a  great  number  of  Eastern  immigrants,  together 
with  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  poured  over  her  lands, 
while  the  South  has  depended  only  on  itself,  and  yet  it  has  100 
per  cent,  more  land  under  the  plough,  130  per  cent,  more  value 
in  farm  implements,  and  60  per  cent,  more  value  to  its  lands. 
This  is  free  and  slave  labor  in  the  same  business.  These  are 
the  means  of  production.  It  is  the  Northeast  which  retains 
the  accumulation.  "With  a  far  less  area  the  value  of  lands  is 
much  greater,  but  this  includes  the  numei-ous  cities  and  manu- 
facturing localities,  which  are  made  valuable  by  Southern 
traffic.  "Tlie  city  of  New  York  has  a  value  of  $551,928,122,  or 
equal  to  the  whole  State  of  Pennsylvania,  exceeding  that  of 
any  Western  State  except  Ohio,  and  of  the  Southern  States  ex- 
cept Virginia.  The  trade  and  valuation  of  New  Orleans,  and 
New  York  and  Boston  compare  as  follows : 


ImporU  and 
exports. 

Heal  estate. 

Pergonal 

eitate. 

Total. 

Popu- 
lation. 

Boston 

New  York. . . . 
New  Orleans. 

^65.774,797 
382,86i,7o3 
117,413,044 

$i53,5o5.3oo 
378,9')4,93o 
76,485,970 

$101,208,800 
172.961.192 
28,370,942 

$254,174,100 
551.923.122 
104,856,912 

162,748 
629.904 
124,385 

The  business  of  New  Orleans  embraces  the  large  river  re- 
ceipts of  produce,  which  go  to  swell  its  exports,  and  its  exter- 
nal business  is  larger  than  that  of  Boston ;  yet  its  personal 
property  is  very  small,  and  the  value  of  its  real  estate  nothing 
in  proportion  to  its  business.  The  real  estate  of  New  York  is 
enhanced  in  value  by  the  crowd  of  buyers  from  the  South,  to 
catch  whose  business  high  rents  are  paid  for  desirable  sites,  and 
the  holders  of  the  old  Knickerbocker  farms  have  grown  im- 
mensely wealthy  by  the  confluence  in  Broadway  of  the  Yankee 
dealers  and  Southern  buyers.  The  Western  cities  present  no 
such  rise  in  value.  Cincinnati,  with  a  population  of  155,000, 
has  its  real  estate  valued  at  $55,595,825,  or  less  than  New  Or- 
leans. 

The  tendency  at  the  North  is  to  increase  the  wealth  and  pop- 
ulation of  the  cities  that  enjoy  the  Southern  ti;ade,  while  the 
agricultural  population  diminishes  by  migration  West.  This 
has  produced  a  declining  value  of  farm  lands.  The  census 
gave  for  New  York  the  value  of  farm  lands  at  $551,546,642, 
while  the  real  estate  in  New  York  city  alone  is  $378,954,030, 
or  nearly  three-fourths.  The  real  estate  in  Boston  exceeds  the 
value  of  farm  lands  in  Massachusetts  by  44  millions.  The 
sterile  nature  of  the  soil,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  West, 


Southern  Wealth  and  JVorthern  Projlis.  103 

while  its  valuation  is  so  much  greater,  prompts  migration. 
Farm  lands  in  Massachusetts  are  valued  at  $50  per  acre,  and 
much  better  are  had  at  the  AVcst  for  $10.  New  York  lands 
are  valued  at  §45  per  acre,  and  produce  far  less  than  Western 
lands  at  $5  per  acre. 

The  valuations  of  land  are,  however,  little  to  be  depended 
upon,  a  fact  which  the  revulsion  in  the  ]S[orthwest  brings  home 
to  the  experience  of  vast  numbers  of  individuals  at  the  present 
moment.  At  the  North  everywhere,  farm  lands  are  greatly 
overvalued.  It  is  true  that  nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to 
affix  values  to  landed  property,  and  the  value  of  such  pi-operty 
varies  rapidly.  Thus,  a  farm  of — say  100  acres — under  fair 
management,  may  give  the  owner  his  living  in  exchange  for 
his  labor,  and  $600  per  annum  clear  money.  This  would  be 
the  interest  on  $10,000,  and  he  might,  under  such  circum- 
stances, estimate  his  land  as  worth  $100  per  acre.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  case  ;  very  few  farriis  will,  at  the  North,  give 
any  thing  beyond  a  meagre  support  of  a  family  in  return  for 
hard  labor  and  care.  Nevertheless,  the  universal  valuation  is 
$100  per  acre'  for  farms.  Every  owner  feels  that  if  he  coidd 
sell  at  that  price,  and  place  the  money  at  seven  per  cent,  interest, 
he  sliould  be  rich  without  working  at  all,  compared  with  his 
farm  life.  Hence  it  is  that  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  North  and  West,  every  farm  is  for  sale.  In  EngUind 
and  Europe  land  is  tenaciously  held  ;  in  this  country  no  kind 
of  property  is  more  readily  parted  with.  This  fact  grows  out 
of  tlie  over  valuation.  In  years  of  large  exports  of  food,  farm 
profits,  as  a  matter  of  course,  rise,  and  the  holder  is  enabled 
to  meet  his  mortgages  readily ;  for  nearly  all  the  farms  ai-e 
mortgaged.  In  a  time  of  low  prices,  like  the  past  year,  the 
mortgages  are  paid  with  difficulty,  and  when  the  land  comes 
to  market  $40  or  $50  per  acre  is  found  to  be  nearer  the  realiz- 
able value.  The  holders  of  mortgages  are  they  who  reap  the 
true  value  of  the  farm  lands.  The  grasp  which  the  money- 
lenders and  speculators  have  upon  the  free  labor  of  the  North 
is  universal  and  tenacious,  and  "financial  talent"  is  always  on 
the  lookout  to  mortgage  other  peoples'  labor  for  their  i>\\n 
benefit.  This  was  singularly  the  case  with  the  Holland  Land 
Company  in  the  State  of  New  York.  That  company  hehl  a 
large  tract  where  the  Western  terminus  of  the  Erie  Raihvnid 
now  is.  Tlie  land  was  settled  l>y  numbers  of  industrious  set- 
tlers, wlio  luid  taken   the   lands  of  tlie   conipany  to   inijirove 


134:  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

them,  and  to  pay  as  they  could.  When  they  paid  np,  they 
were  to  have  deeds.  These  settlements  were  in  a  state  of  prog- 
ress, when,  in  an  evil  hour,  financial  talent,  in  the  shape  of 
William  H.  Seward,  Esq.,  and  his  coadjutors,  turned  their  at- 
tention to  the  "free  labor"  of  that  region,  and  concluded  to 
make  it  available  by  "  bonds."  They  agreed  to  buy  out  tlie 
Holland  Land  Co. ;  but  in  order  to  do  it,  they  must  enchain 
the  free  laborers.  They  persuaded  these  simple-minded  men, 
who  were  paying  up  the  principal  on  their  lands  as  best  they 
could,  to  take  deeds,  and  give  mortgages  with  "  bonds,"  bear- 
ing interest  inexorably  twice  a  year.  These  mortgages  the 
financiers  pledged  with  the  American  Life  and  Trust  Co.,  for 
loans  with  which  to  buy  out  the  Land  Co.  The  free  laborers 
soon  found  that  they  were  in  the  hands  of  the  spoiler,  and 
when  they  could  no  longer  wring  from  the  earth  the  inevitable 
semi-annual  interest,  they  were  cleared,  as  the  negro-loving 
Duchess  of  Sutherland  cleared  her  estates  of  pauper  residents, 
they  being  driven  forth  to  new  homes  in  the  West.  Tlieir 
departure  left  the  lands  in  the  hands  of  those  who  knew  how 
to  profit  largely  by  the  construction  of  the  Erie  Kailroad 
over  them.  Thus  it  is  that  free  labor  is  made  useful  to  those 
who  understand  the  "higher  law"  of  finance.  The  mortgage 
holders  generally  are  they  who  reap  the  profit  of  free  farming 
labor.  E.  D.  Mansfield,  Esq.,  the  able  Commissioner  of  Statis- 
tics for  the  State  of  Ohio,  gives  the  mortgages  upon  the  lands 
of  that  State  at  $50,000,000. 

If  we  take  from  the  State  returns  of  last  year  the  valuation 
of  such  States  as  have  been  oflicially  given,  we  get  returns  as 
follows : 

State  Returns  of  Taxable  Acres,  Valuation.,  Slave  Value.,  Other  Personaly 
and  Total  Valuation.,  1858. 

Acre.s  Valur.  of  Slave  Other  Tidal 

taxed.  land.  value.  personal.  valuation. 

Virginia 87,000,000  $374,989,888  §3i3, 148,275  §355,827,763  §1,043,965,928 

Georgia 33,739,233  181,677,194  271,620,405  156,292,277  609,589,876 

riorida 2,265,5o3  13,910,981  27,25o,53i  8,299,932  49,461,466 

Texas 47,937,537  86,539,3o6  71,912,496  33,935,573  192,387,377 

Arkansas...       7,989.676  42,385,704  34,794,704  10,869.007  88,049,415 

Tennessee...     25,362,726  166,417.907  82,319,723  11,381,981  260,319,611 

Kentucky. ..     21,568,383  270,960.818  95,588,479  53,809,903  420,359,180 

Missouri 26,325,338  235,892,792  45,090,028  89,072,373  820,055,193 

Total ...   202,899,296    §1,872,774,597    §941,724,661    §669,688,811    §2,984,188,046 

These  are  the  figures  for  eight  Southern  States.  The  value 
of  the  lands  given  in  the  above  table  from  the  census  in  these 
same  States  was  $629,000,000,  an  increase  of  $743,000,000 !  in 


Sonthern  Wealth  and  N'orthcm  Profits.  135 

eight  years  following  the  rise  in  the  vahie  of  tlie  cotton  crop. 
It  will  be  observed  that  the  other  seven  Southern  States,  of 
which  we  have  uo  official  State  returns,  gave  a  value  ot 
$490,000,000  in  the  above  census  table.  If  these  have  in- 
creased in  the  same  ratio  as  those  for  which  Ave  liave  returns, 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  it,  then  the  wliole  increased 
value  in  the  Southern  States  is  $1,333,000,000!!  There  was 
no  speculation  in  these  States ;  but  they  were,  to  some  extent, 
acted  upon  adversely  by  the  land  speculation  of  the  North- 
west, which  attracted  capital  thither  even  from  the  South. 
If  we  turn  now  to  the  State  returns  of  seven  Free  States,  the 
results  are  as  follows : 

Pergonal 

Acres.  Value.                     vcilite.  Total. 

California 5, 087, 557  56,o6o,35i  48,919,728  i3i, 306,269 

Indiana 21,918,659  176,894,881  i4i,3io,o23  318,204,964 

Illinois 42,100,000  395,663,459  111,813,908  407,477.367 

Iowa io,445,oo3  98,101,200  4i, 943, 333  140, 044, 533 

Ohio 19,800,000  590.285,947  25o, 314.084  84o,8oo,o3i 

Michiiran 7,917,322  88,101,204  32.261,670  120,362,474 

Wiseon.siu.. 17,411,319  i55,oi2,33o  13,607,893  152,537,700 

Total 124,629,860  $1,560,119,372  §610,370,199  $2,111,233,345 

The  valuation  of  these  same  States  in  the  table,  page  131,  was 
$692,209,000,  showing  an  increase  of  $807,910,000  as  the 
result  of  the  vast  migration  from  abroad  and  the  East,  with 
the  expenditure  of  many  hundred  millions  in  addition  to  the 
railroad  expenditure.  The  territories  may  have  increased  so 
as  to  bring  up  the  value  to  $1,000,000,000. 

This  increase  is  flattering,  but  what  are  the  results  ?  The 
West  is  bankrupt  in  face  of  that  valuation  ;  capital  flows  back 
from  it  as  fast  as  it  can  be  realized.  Tlie  money  sent  there  is 
sunk;  the  railroads  do  not  earn  expenses;  and  the  lands,  with 
their  high  valuation,  do  not  give  back  an  interest  u])on  mort- 
gages. The  South,  on  the  other  hand,  has  attained  that  valua- 
tion on  a  basis  of  the  actual  rise  in  value  and  sale  of  the  jirodiicc 
of  the  land.  The  annual  produce  not  only  amply  pays  the  in- 
terest, but  it  gives  a  higher  value  to  the  price  of  slaves,  wliich 
have  risen  to  $1500  to  $2000  for  a  good  flcld-hand.  There  is 
no  "back  set"  in  the  values  thus  attained,  while  those  of  the 
West  are  a  wreck.  In  these  figures  for  the  SoiUhern  States  we 
have  also  the  fact,  that  there  is  personal  property  in  those  States, 
over  and  above  the  value  of  slaves,  more  than  equal  to  the 
amount  of  personal  in  the  Western  States.  The  fact  is  a  com- 
plete refutation  of  that  assertion  which  has  been  freely  circu- 
lated, to  the  effect  that  the  South  has  no  personal  property  be- 


136  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

sides  its  blacks.     Tlie  taxable  valuation  of  the  Eastern  States 
compare  as  follows : 

Census,  1850.  State,  1S59. 

Maine 96,799,553  162,472.914 

Massachusetts 55i,io6,824  597,9.36,995 

New  Hampshire 95.251,596  io3,8o4,326 

Vermont 72.980483  86,775,218 

Connecticut 119,088.672  211,187,683 

lihode  Island 77,758,974  111,175,174 

New  York 715,369.028  1,404.907.679 

New  Jersey i53,25i  619  179.150.000 

Pennsylvania 5oo, 275.831  568,770,234 

Total 82,381,782,690  $3,426,180,218 

Increase 1,044,398,61 

This  increase  has  been  mostly  in  city  values.  Thus,  Yer- 
mont  gives  the  official  value  of  lands  in  1859  at  $69,274,600, 
and  in  the  above  census  table,  it  was  given  at  $63,367,227, 
showing  that  six  millions  only  out  of  an  aggregate  increase 
of  16  millions  is  due  to  lands.  As  a  result,  the  nine  Northern 
States  give  an  increase  of  1000  millions  in  city  and  personal 
property.  This  increase  has  been  in  the  face  of  the  vast  sums 
that  have  been  sent  "West  for  investment,  and  the  migration  of 
capital  with  settlers  to  that  region.  The  South  has  supplied 
the  capital  which  has  accumulated  at  the  North,  and  which 
has  endowed  the  "West  with  such  factitious  prosperity.  It  is 
to  be  borne  in  mind  that  very  much  of  the  personal  property  of 
the  North  escapes  taxation. 

It  is  not  alone  in  the  valuations  that  the  increased  capital  at 
the  North  manifests  itself,  but  in  banks,  ships,  manufacturing, 
corporate  companies  of  all  descriptions,  of  which  the  figures 
can  be  realized.  If  we  compare  the  bank  returns  for  the  pres- 
ent year  with  1850,  we  find  the  increase  in  capital  as  follows  : 

Bank  Capital  of  the  United  States. 

1S50.  1859. 

No.               Capital.  2i'o.  Capital  corporate.         Private. 

North 5i6        §121,909,000  934  $26i,773,83o  $94,545,000 

South 182            77,632,000  899  104,080,994  10,276,369 

West 65              8,675,000  243  23,171,418  13,204,711 

Total 753        $208,216,000         1,576         $388,976,242        Sii8,o36,o8o 

The  bank  capital  of  the  Union  began  to  take  a  start  in  1848, 
having  then  recovered  from  the  breakdown  of  the  old  revul- 
sion. The  increase  of  the  capital  was  mostly  North  and  East, 
following  the  concentration  of  general  business.  The  increase 
at  the  "West  was  on  a  basis  of  Eastern  capital,  sent  out  with  a 
view  to  control  business.  The  private  banking  capital  is  that 
as  given  in  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  1856, 


/Southern  ^^caUh  and  Xorthirn  Profits,  ^^o iTOn p -^^l '. 

page  1-il.  That  capital  liad  mostly  grown  up  within  a  few 
years.  The  increase  of  corporate  capital  at  the  Nortli  was, 
in  round  numbers,  140  millions,  and  90  millions  of  private, 
making  together  230  millions  employed  in  a  business  which 
])ays  10  per  cent,  net  upon  mostly  Southern  connections. 
The  increase  of  tonnage  at  the  North  has  been  as  follows : 

JS^onTij.  South.  "West.  Total. 

i85o 2,653.975  760,841  140.678  3,535,454 

1859 3,669,115  i,oo5.852  374.841  5,049.808 

Increase 1,01 5, 140  245, 011  234,  i63  i,5i4,354 

The  Avhole  tonnage  has  iucre;ised,  it  appears,  1,514,35^  tons; 
of  this  two-thirds,  or  1,015, 1-tO,  has  been  North  and  East,  rep- 
resenting a  value  of  $45,000,000. 

The  railroads  have  increased  North  and  West  $700,000,000, 
of  which  nearly  the  whole  was  owned  in  the  Eastern  States. 
That  a  good  portion  of  it  was  lost  does  not  take  from  the  fact 
that  it  was  there  to  invest. 

Manufacturing  capital  has  increased  in  a  very  rapid  ratio. 
Thus,  the  census  report  gave  the  capital  in  New  York  and 
Massachusetts,  invested  in  manufactures  in  1850  at  $188,184,097. 
The  state  census  of  the  two  States  give  it  at  $227,042,000  in 
1855,  an  increase  of  20  per  cent,  in  five  years.  The  same  ratio 
would  give  an  increase  to  1859  of  $142,000,000. 

These  items  give  a  Northern  increase  of  capital  as  follows  : 

Banking §232.ooo,oo9 

Tonnage 43,ooo,ooo 

Kailroacls 5oo.ooo,ooo 

Manufacturing 142,000.000 

Corporate  companies 100,000,000 

Total 81,019,000,000 

This  gives  a  ronnd  amount  of  capital  derived  from  Southern 
business  mostly,  and  employed  in  enterprises  which  derive  a 
profit  from  the  same  source.  This  cai)ital  should  i)ay  10  per 
cent.,  which  would  give  100  millions  per  annum.  That  j.ortion 
of  it  invested  in  "Western  railroads  will  fall  short  of  that  in- 
come for  the  reason  that  the  Western  resources  will  not  pay 
the  investment. 

The  results  of  these  figures  ].]ainly  show  that  whiK"  the  -y^  -^ 
South  produced  vast  wealth,  the  Northern  profits  have  abs(.rl)ed 
most  of  it.  They  also  show  that  the  South  begins  to  accumu- 
late itself.  Its  personal  property  begins  to  show  a  high  figure. 
Its  railroads  and  manufactures  begin  not  only  to  reimbui-se 
capital  but  employ  labor.     In  short,  the  South  has  commenced 


138  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

to  make  capital  work  at  home,  and,  by  so  doing,  not  only  to 
propagate  itself  but  to  attract.  In  addition  to  its  strength  of 
position  and  natural  resources,  it  is  rapidly  gaining  wealth,  and 
by  so  doing,  creating  a  defence  to  the  operation  of  ISTorthern 
capital.  To  this  growing  strength  the  folly  of  the  North  has" 
added  desii-e.  In  an  early  chapter  of  this  book  we  gave  from 
Judge  Johnson's  charge  a  description  of  the  South  in  1807. 
Contrast  that  with  the  picture  we  have  presented  in  these  pages, 
and  it  will  appear  that  the  South  does  not  occupy  a  position  to 
be  trifled  with. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

APPORTIONMENT. 

At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitution  the 
condition  of  slaves  was  very  different  at  the  South  from  what 
it  has  since  become.  At  that  time  there  was,  as  we  have 
shown  in  a  previous  chapter,  no  large  branch  of  industry  to  en- 
gage the  blacks,  and  their  future  fate  was  matter  of  anxiety. 
The  progress  of  the  cotton  culture  has  changed  that,  and  the 
interests  of  million^  of  whites  now  depend  upon  the  blacks. 
The  opinions  of  statesmen  of  that  day  were  formed  upon  exist- 
ing facts ;  could  they  have  seen  50  years  into  the  future  their 
views  upon  black  employment  would  have  undergone  an  entire 
change.  "]S>Tlie  blacks  were  then  prospectively  a  burden  ;  they 
are  now  an  absolute  necessity.  They  then  threatened  Ameri- 
can civilization;  they  are  now  its  support.  With  multiplying 
numbers  they  have  added  to  the  national  wealth.  They  have 
become  the  instruments  of  political  agitation,  while  they  have 
conferred  wealth  upon  the  masses. 
i|<;  From  the  moment  of  the  formation  of  the  Fedei-al  Union 
there  commenced  a  struggle  for  political  power  which  has  not 
ceased  to  be  directed  against  the  Slave  States.  The  instrnment 
of  union,  while  it  provided  for  the  extinction  of  the  slave-trade, 
which  then  formed  so  large  a  portion  of  Northern  traffic,  con- 
tained also  a  provision  for  black  representation  in  the  Southern 
States,  stipulating  that  that  representation  should  not  be 
changed  until  1808,  and  thereafter  only  by  a  vote  of  three- 
fourths  of  all  the  States.  That  provision  has  been  the  ground- 
work of  that  constant  jSTorthern  aggression  upon  Southern  in- 
terests which  has  so  successfully  gained  on  the  federal  power 


Souther7i  Wealth  and  Northern  Projits.  ir?!) 

until  now  it  imagines  the  desired  tliree-fourtlis  is  within  its 
reach,  when  the  South,  with  its  interests,  will  be  at  the  feet  of 
the  abolitionists.  The  South  has  stood  steadily  on  its  defence, 
but  while  the  circle  has  narrowed  in  upon  it,  the  North  has 
not  ceased  to  clamor  against  Southern  aggression  !  Like  Jemmy 
Twitoher,  in  the  farce,  who,  having  robbed  a  passenger,  loses 
the  plunder,  and  exclaims,  "  there  must  be  some  dishonest  per- 
son in  the  neighborhood  !"  The  following  are  passages  that 
occur  in  the  Constitution  : 

Akt.  I.,  Clause  id. 

"  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  tlio  several 
States,  wliich  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respec- 
tive numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of 
free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years,  and  ex- 
cluding Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons." 
AuT.  I.,  Section  9,  1st  Clause. 

"  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  States  now 
existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  tiie  Congress 
prior  to  1808  ;  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  sucli  importation,  not 
exceediug  $10  for  each  person." 

Art.  V. 

"The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem  it  neces- 
sary, shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution  ;  or,  on  tlie  application 
of  tlie  Legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several  States,  shall  call  a  conven- 
tion for  proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  sliall  be  valid  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes  as  part  of  this  Constitution,  when  rati  tied  by  the  Legis- 
latures of  tliree-fourths  of  the  several  Stjxtes, 

"  Provided,  that  no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year 
1808  shall  in  any  manner  affect  the  first  and  fourtli  clauses  in  the  nintli  sec- 
tion of  the  first  article." 

The  original  13  States  that  ado])ted  this  Constitution  were  all 
Slave  States  with  the  exception  of  Massachusetts,  which,  although 
it  then  held  no  slaves  had  an  interest  in  continuing  the  slave-^ 
trade,  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  Slave  States.  The 
struggle  in  the  Convention  in  relation  to  the  discontinuance  of 
the  slave-trade,  M-as  between  the  New  England  States,  that  de- 
sired the  traffic,  and  Virginia  and  Delaware  that  wishe<l  no 
more  slaves,  while  those  Southern  States  that  had  but  a  few 
blacks  desired  to  import  them  without  tax.  On  the  vote  New 
Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  voted  to  continue  the  trade  until 
1808,  and  Virginia  and  Delaware  voted  "  nay,"  or  for  its  im- 
mediate discontinuance.  No  sooner  had  the  Constitution  been 
adopted,  however,  than  the  annexation  of  Louisiana  l)ecame  a 
necessity,  in  order  to  give  an  outlet  to  the  sea  fi>r  the  produce 


140  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

of  the  \Yest,  but,  notwithstanding  the  great  advantage  which 
tlie  annexation  was  to  confer  upon  Massachusetts,  she  opposed 
it  to  the  point  of  threatening  to  dissolve  the  Union  if  it  was  car- 
ried out.  That,  after  the  great  rebellion  of  Shay  within  her 
borders,  was  the  first  disunion  threat,  and  the  motive  was  fear 
of  the  political  increase  of  Southern  strength.  Those  fears 
were  like  all  party  pretences,  short-sighted,  since  that  territory 
has  given  more  Free  than  Slave  States  to  the  Union.  This  threat 
of  disunion  was  made  while  yet  Massachusetts  was  engaged  in 
the  slave-trade,  that  the  State  had  voted  to  prolong  to  ISOS. 
The  same  cry  was  renewed  in  respect  of  Florida,  and  again, 
with  greater  violence,  in  the  case  of  Missouri ;  to  be  again  re- 
vived in  respect  of  Texas ;  and  once  more,  Avitli  circumstances 
of  greater  atrocity  in  the  case  of  Kansas.  V  It  is  remarkable 
that  while  Free  States  come  in  without  any  great  struggle  on 
the  part  of  the  South,  the  safety  of  which  is  threatened  by  each 
such  accession,  the  admission  of  Slave  States  is  the  signal  of  so 
much  strife,  and  this  resistance  to  a  manifest  right  of  the  South 
is  denounced  as  "  Southern  aggression." 

The  gradual  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  old  JSTorthern  States, 
and  the  rapidity  with  which  Eastern  capital,  following  migration, 
ha.s  settled  the  Western  States,  has  given  a  large  preponderance 
to  the  free  interest  in  the  national  councils.  Of  the  26  senators 
that  sat  in  the  first  Congress,  all  represented  a  slave  intei-est, 
more  or  less :  with  the  States  and  territories  now  knocking  for 
admission,  there  are  72  senators,  of  whoin  32  only  represent  the 
slave  interest.  That  interest,  from  being  '"  a  unit"  in  the  Sen- 
ate, has  sunk  to  a  minority  of  four,  and  yet  the  majority  do  not 
cease  to  complain  of  Southern  "aggression."  With  this  rapid 
decline  in  the  Southern  vote  in  the  great  "  conservative  bodj"^" 
of  the  Senate,  the  representation  in  the  lower  house  has  fallen 
to  one-third.  How  long  will  it  be  before  the  desired  three- 
fourths  vote,  for  which  a  large  party  pant,  will  have  been  ob- 
tained, and,  when  obtained,  what  will  have  become  of  those 
Southern  rights  which  are  even  now  denied  by  party  leaders  to 
be  any  rights  at  all.  In  the  last  30  years  11  Free  States  have 
been  prepared  for  the  Union ;  a  similar  progress  in  the  next  30 
years  and  the  South  will  have  fallen  into  that  constitutional  mi- 
nority which  may  deprive  it  of  all  reserved  rights.  This  circle  is 
closing  rapidly  in  upon  it,  amid  a  continually  rising  cry  of  aboli- 
tion, ])ointed  by  bloody  inroads  of  armed  men.  This  is  called 
Soutliern  "aggression."  The  apportionments  have  been  as  follows: 


Southern  Wealth  and  Xorthern  Profits.  141 
Representation  under  each  Census  Apportionment. 

Before 

cenms.  1790.  1800.    1810.  ISaO.    1830.  1840.  1850. 

instates.  16 States,  n Stcites.    WSlaten.  USlalea.    XHtrttu.  26Slalai.  SlSlaltt. 

Maine ..  ..            ..  7             8  7  6 

Massachusetts...     8  14  17            20  i3            12  10  11 

New  Hampshire..     3  4  5              6  6              5  4  3 

Vermont 2  4              6  5              5  4  3 

Ehode  Island i  2  2              2  2              2  2  2 

Connecticut 57776644 

New  York 6  10  17            27  34           40  34  33 

New  Jersey 4  5  6             6  6             6  5  5 

Pennsylvania 8  i3  18           23  26           28  24  25 

NoETH 35  57  76           97  io5          112  94  92 

Delaware i  i  i             2  i              i  i  i 

Maryland 68999866 

Virginia 10  19  22            23  22            21  i5  i3 

North  Carolina. . .     5  10  12            i3  i3            i3  98 

South  Carolina.  ..5  6  8              9  9              9  7  6 

Georgia 3  2  4             6  7              9  8  8 

Florida . . '  . .             . .  . .             . .  . .  i 

Louisiana ..  ..              i  3             3  4  4 

Te.xas . .  . .             . .  . .             . .  . .  2 

Alabama ..  ..            ..  3             5  7  7 

Mississippi ..  ..             ..  i              2  4  5 

Arkansas ..  ..             ..  ..              i  i  2 

Tennessee i  3,6  9           i3  11  10 

Kentucky 2  6/          10  12            i3  10  10 

Missouri ..  .^             . .  i              2  5  7 


South 3o  53  ^5  79  90 


90 


Ohio ..       /  I  6  14  19  21  21 

Indiana ..      I  ..  i  3  7  10  11 

Illinois ...>..  ..  1  2  7  9 

ilichigan ../  ..  ,.  ..  i  3  4 

Wisconsin . .  /  . .  . .  . .  . .  . .  3 

Iowa .j  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  2 

California .^.  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  2 

West /. .  i  7  28  29  \\  52 

Total 65    kiQ  142    i83    2i3    242    223    234 

There  are  now  iieArly  ready  to  come  in — Kansas,  Minnesota, 
Oregon,  Washingtoa,  Nebraska,  Utah,  New  Mexico  ;  wliile  tlie 
vast  imniigration  of  the  hist  ten  years,  reacliirig  over  3,500,000 
souls,  will  have  ad(|ed  to  the  Western  nnnihers,  inider  the  sup- 
position that  the  estimate  of  population  given  for  each  section 
in  another  chaptei\  on  population  of  this  book  is  correct,  and 
that  nearly  the  salne  number  of  representation  is  returned, 
the  representation  will  be:  South,  81 ;  North, -88;  West,  Uii ; 
giving  the  South  less  than  one-third. 

With  this  future  before  it,  and  these  manifestly  hostile  in- 
tentions encouraged  by  party  votes  in  favor  of  the  leaders  that 
avow  them,  it  certa,'inly  is  wise  on  the  part  of  the  South  to  seek 
safety  in  prompt  remedies.  It  is  in  vain  that  unscrupirfous 
party  leaders   deny  any  design   ulterior   to   the   exelu>ion   of 


142  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

slavery  from  new  territories.  That  pretence  ever  was  fraudu- 
lent, since  it  is  nature  that  decides  the  question,  and  has  so  de- 
cided it  against  slavery  in  nine  original  ISTorthern  slaveholding 
States,  and  will  always  so  decide  it  JN^orth.  Public  indignation 
aroused  by  the  evident  dangers  evoked  by  this  partisan  object, 
compels  a  denial  of  abolition  intentions ;  but  this  denial  is  too 
evidently  a  mask  to  deceive  the  mass  of  the  people.  The 
immigration  from  Europe  in  the  past  few  years  has  inured 
almost  entirely  to  the  benefit  of  the  North.  The  census  of 
1850  gave  the  nativities  of  the  white  population  ;  the  figures 
are  contained  in  a  chapter  upon  that  subject.  The  immigrants 
and  their  descendants  number  5,000,000  souls,  or  one-fifth  of 
the  entire  white  population,  and  these  have  swollen  the  Free 
State  representation ;  while  the  population  of  the  South,  as  well 
black  as  white,  has  progressed  only  by  natural  means.  It  is 
to  be  borne  in  mind,  also,  that  the  very  prosperity  of  the 
South,  growing  out  of  large  crops,  and  higher  prices  for  it, 
operates  against  the  political  extension  of  the  section,  since 
it  tends  powerfully  to  concentrate  the  population.  We  have 
shown,  under  the  head  of  cotton-culture,  the  remarkable  ex- 
tension which  took  place  during  the  speculative  excitement, 
from  1830  to  1840,  in  the  black  population.  The  fertile  lands 
of  the  great  valley  were  then  discovered  to  bear  more  cotton 
at  less  price  than  the  Atlantic  States,  and  that  migration  of 
blacks  took  place  which  produced  sp  manifest  a  change  in 
the  slave  population  in  the  several  States  by  the  census  of 
1850.  In  the  table  of  black  population^  given  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  of  the  blacks  who  left  the  Atlantic  for  the  new 
States,  a  considerable  number,  when  the  disasters  came  on, 
were  run  to  Texas ;  when  that  State  was  reannexed,  these  slaves 
again  appeared  in  the  enumeration  of  1850.  The  effects  of 
hat  migration  are  very  remarkable.  In  Delaware  and  Mary- 
and  the  slave  population  fell  from  106,286  in  1830,  to  92,342 
in  1840,  a  decline  of  13,944  in  addition  to  the  natural  increase. 
The  free  blacks  in  the  same  time  increased.  10,204.  The  census 
of  1850  gave  a  slight  increase  of  slaves  in  1850.  In  the  State 
of  Virginia  the  slaves  declined  over  20,000  up  to  1840,  but 
recovered  23,000  up  to  1850.  In  the  nine  j-ears  that  have 
elapsed  since  the  census,  an  immense  addition  has  been  made 
to  the  cotton  crop,  and  also  to  its  value.  Although  the  crop 
doubled  from  1830  to  1840,  under  the  spur  of  the  speculation 
of  those  years,  it  remained  nearly  stationary  in  the  ten  years 


Southern  Wealth  and  N'orthern  Promts.  U3 

up  to  1850,  since  then  it  lias  again  doubled ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
cotton  raised  in  the  five  years  ending  with  1860  is  17,T3l\:1()7 
bales,  and  in  the  five  years  ending  with  1850  there  wei-e  raist-d 
8,951,587,  or  85,434  bales  less  tlum  half;  at  the  same  time  the 
price  per  lb.  at  one  time,  in  1857,  ranged  18  cents.  Under 
such  circumstances,  the  value  of  cotton  hands  reached  $2,000; 
while  they  were  nearl}^  as  valuable  for  sugar  culture.  It  is 
obvious  that,  under  such  circumstances,  no  one  can  spare 
blacks  for  the  settlement  of  new  States.  On  the  other  hand, 
they  are  concentrated  on  the  cotton  lands  of  the  old  States 
with  great  rapidity,  and  the  census  of  the  next  year  will  sIidw; 
the  eflects  of  those  influences  upon  the  local  populations.  The 
same  causes  that  are  operating  to  make  black  servitude  annu- 
ally more  important  to  the  world  at  large,  are  also  operating 
against  the  expansion  of  political  power  in  the  South.  It  need 
hardly  be  said  that  concentration  of  population  aids  power- 
fully in  the  development  of  wealth,  giving  a  greater  impulse 
to  manufacturing  industry.  By  so  doing,  it  becomes  the  more 
important  for  ]^orthern  and  confederate  States  to  avoid  all 
political  aggression. 

The  concentration  of  hands  in  the  cotton  States  must  dimin- 
ish the  direct  interest  in  the  Northern  Slave  States  ;  but  it  in- 
creases their  interest  in  slave-labor,  since  they  possess  the 
elements  of  supplanting  the  Northern  Free  States  in  the  supply 
of  manufactured  goods  to  the  South. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  apportionment  to  take  place 
under  the  eighth  census,  to  be  taken  this  year,  will  indicate 
a  concentration  of  blacks;  but  in  the  last  decade  the  arrivals 
of  emigrants  from  abroad  have  been  over  3,000,000,  a  large 
portion  of  whom  have  gone  West,  in  company  with  consider- 
able numbers  from  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States,  drawn 
thither  by  the  railroad  speculation,  and  the  AVest  will  receive 
a  vast  accession  of  power  in  the  lower  branch  of  the  national 
government.  The  interest  of  that  section  is  less  in  common 
with  the  South  than  is  the  East,  since  the  South— if  it  affords 
an  outlet  by  the  great  river  for  Western  produce — is  not  of  it- 
self a  large  customer  for  it.  And  the  Northern  railroads  have 
diminished  much  of  the  importance  of  the  Southern  waiter- 
courses.  The  Atlantic  States  have  sought  to  buihl  up  a 
Western  interest  by  large  railroad  expenditure,  and  it  may 
draw  its  food  thence  in  exchange  for  mannfactures  for  a  season 
or  until   the  West  manuf-it:ture  for  itself.     The  West  cannot 


144  Southern  Wealth  and  Novtliern  Profits. 

afford  it  commerce,  or  raw  materials,  or  an  extended  market. 
The  East  is,  therefore,  the  "  natural  ally"  of  the  South,  and  the 
two  united  would  without  difficulty  hold  their  own  against  the 
West. 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  causes  which,  since  the 
famine  of  1846,  have  given  so  great  an  impulse  to  immigration, 
have  now  measurably  ceased  to  operate.  The  condition  of  Ire- 
land is  reversed,  and  great  numbers  return  thither  every  year, 
while  the  prospect  of  peace  and  renewed  prosperity  in  Europe 
have  operated  in  the  past  few  years  to  check  the  disposition  to 
•migrate  to  America,  and  the  cutting  off  those  supplies  of  pop- 
ulation will  greatly  affect  the  North. 

It  results  that  if  the  mere  politician  sees  in  the  course  of 
events  the  chance  of  i-eaching  power  by  riding  the  anti-slavery 
hobby,  he  does  it  at  the  risk  of  concentrating  Southern  wealth 
into  fl  powerful  nation,  that  will  be  compelled  to  seek  the  safety 
of  its  present  institutions  in  independence. 

The  kind  of  argument  which  is  used  in  support  of  this  ag- 
gressive policy,  based  upon  violence,  is  beneath  contempt. 
The  French  Emperor  exclaimed,  "  The  Empire  is  peace  ;"  with 
how  much  greater  force  is  it  asserted  that  "  the  Union  is  peace,'' 
and  also  the  converse,  that  "  disunion  is  war?"  When  a  mem- 
ber of  the  national  councils,  probably  after  dinner,  exclaims  that 
the  I^orth  is  too  strong  to  permit  disunion,: — in  other  words, 
that  it  will  "  compel"  union,  no  matter  how  hard  the  condi- 
tions, he  gives  an  example  of  the  "  meeting  of  extremes," — his 
zeal  against  slavery  leads  him  to  threaten  the  enslavement  of  a* 
whole  people.  The  North  has  but  one  interest, — it  is  to  side 
earnestly  with  the  Union,  and  extinguish  every  public  man  Avho 
dares  to  excite  sectional  prejudices  in  order  to  obtain  votes  for 
his  own  aggrandizement. 


CHAPTEK    XII. 

CONCLUSION. 

In  the  preceding  pages  we  have  traced  briefly,  in  several 
branches,  the  surprising  progress  wliich  the  U.  States  have  made 
in  population  and  wealth  during  the  first  60  years  of  their  ex- 
istence.    We  have  seen  that  the  original  States  have  increased 


Southeiii  Wealth  and  Xortheni  Profits.  115 

from  a  valuation  of  $619,977,247  in  179S,  to  $3,899,226,347  in 
1850,  or  thus : 

1T9S.  1S50. 

Valuation $619,977,247  ?3,899,226,347 

ropulation 5,3o5,925  23,191,879 

Value  per  head -. $117  $168 

The  real  estate  has  improved  45  per  cent,  in  value  per  Iiead 
of  a  population  that  has  quadrupled.  The  personal  estate  in 
the  sameperiod  rose  to  $3,834,143,378,  or  about  the  same  as 
the  real  estate,  making  an  aggregate  of  about  $336  per  liead  of 
the  population.  Such  a  rate  of  progression  cannot  indicate  a 
wrong  system.  The  increase  of  Avealth  has  been  prodigious, 
and  it  has  been  well  distributed  through  the  jSTorthern  States. 
AVe  find,  however,  this  fact,  that  while  the  population  of  the 
IS'orth  has  increased  less  rapidly  than  that  of  either  of  the  other 
sections,  its  ^\^ealth  has  increased  more  rapidly. 

The  following  table  presents  a  summary  of  the  leading  facts 
set  forth  in  the  preceding  chapters  in  relation  to  the  production 
and  valuation  of  each  section,  with  the  population  and  area : 

NouTH.  West.  South.  Total. 

White  population 8,626,852  4,900,368  6,222,418  19,749,633 

Prodxiction. 
White  hands  in  agri- 
culture   823,171  728,127  849,285  2,400,583 

Area,  acres "     102.878,080  917,313,240         538,533,120       1,558,926.440 

Product  agriculture..      $295,568,699       §246,097,028      $528,571,103    $1,070,236,830 

Hands  in  manufacture  684,761  122,354  i5i,944  959,069 

Cotton  inanufucturc.        ?52,o62,953  $438,goo  $9,367,33i  $61,869,184 

Total  "  ..         715,846,142  133,780,537  164,579,937       1,019,106,616 


K.xports $78,217,202  $198,389,451  $278,392,080 

Tonnajje 3, 481, 436  373,661  918,092  4,773,189 

Kailroads,  miles 8,685  10,706  '8,171  27,562 

Propcrt]/. 

Value  of  animals $173,812,690  $ii2,563.85i  $253,795,33o  $538,171,871 

Capital  in  manufacture  382,366,732  i55, 883^045  94,995,674  533.245,822 

Value  of  tonnage 17,407,180  i,868,3o5  4,290,460  23,865,9.',) 

"             ■'         '  ..-        .      .  -.'     .    .  72.6.i/,,.% 


railroads 45i, 940,410  298,837,647  221, 8,07, 5o3  072 

"    Dank  capital..  186,668,462  16,978,130  97,730,5-79  3oi,J70,o7i 

"    private     "     ..  94,545,000  13,204,711  10,286,369  ii8.o36,oHo 

Kcal  C8tat,e i,835,o63,6i3  619,154.287  1,445,008,447  3,899;226,347 

Personal  estate 544,718,966  193,054,073  1,385,727,523  2,i23,44o,562 

Total $3,638,532,053    $i,4i3,544,o49    $3,5i4,074,i85    $8,616,150,287 

The  Southern  valuation  includes  tlic  slaves.  The  Nortliern 
agricultural  productions  include  hay,  which  is  ratlicr  an  ex- 
pense than  a  product.  Tlie  valuations  of  real  and  personal  es- 
tate are  tliose  of  the  census  returns,  to  which  the  commission- 
ers affixed  a  corrected  value,  at  $7,066,562,966.  Of  this  the 
Northern  proportion  was  $380  per  head  ;  the  Southern  $304; 
10 


146  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

and  the  Western  $200.  That  part  of  the  country  whicli  had 
tlie  least  natural  resources  accumulated  the  most  wealth.  This 
has  resulted  from  the  workings  of  capital  in  aid  of  manufactur- 
ing and  commercial  industry,  favored  by  the  laws  of  the  federal 
Uiiion.  The  bounties  paid  to  fisheries,  the  protective  tariffs, 
giving  to  the  Nortliei'ii  factories  a  monopoly  of  supplying  the 
South  and  "West  with  goods ;  the  monopoly  of  the  carrying  trade, 
and  the  expenditure  of  the  government  revenue  mostly  at  the 
!North, — these  have  all  resulted  from  the  operation  of  the  fed- 
eral laws,  and  the  laws'of  finance  governing  accumulated  cap- 
ital, have  put  the  whole  country  under  contribution  to  that 
capital.  The  laws  of  trade  have,  by  concentrating  the  markets 
at  the  ISTorth,  required  a  periodical  Northern  pilgrimage,  which 
has  enriched  the  cities  of  the  East,  as  Mecca  is  supj^orted  by 
the  i:)ilgrimages  of  the  faithful.  The  whole  surplus  production  v' 
of  tlie' country  has,  therefore,  centred  at  the  Korth,  making 
the  rich  richer,  and  making  "  capital"  the  sole  strength  of  the 
North,  as  opposed  to  the  "labor"  of  the  South  and  West, 
While  this  has  been  the  case,  a  very  curious  change  has  been 
going  on  in  the  populat'ion  of  the  N"orthern  States,  as  disclosed 
by  the  census.  The  poor  classes  of  native,  mostly  agricultural, 
population,  have  emigrated  in  hundreds  of  thousands  to  the 
West  and  South,  and  as  many  poor  foreigners  have  filled  the 
space  thus  vacated  to  carry  on  small  trades,  and  perform  do- 
mestic service.     This  change  is  apparent  in  the  census  returns. 

Population  of  the  North  in  1790 1,968,455 

"  "  ",  i85o 8,626,85i 

Increase 6,658,896 

Native  Northern  emigration i ,428,579 

Foreigners  domiciled. 1,292,241 

Excess  native  emigration i36,33S 

These  foreigners  are  mostly  domestic  servants  and  artisans. 
If  tliese  were  deducted  from  the  I^orthern  aggregate  popula- 
tion, the  value  of  property  per  head  Avould  be  so  much  the 
greater.  Thus  the  North  has  been  dividing  into  a  poor  foreign 
population  and  a  Avealthy  native  population.  The  revenues 
and  profits  of  the  latter  are  derived  from  the  large  productions 
of  the  South  and  West,  both  of  which  contribute  in  a  different 
degree  to  the  Northern  profits.  The  South  has,  however,  been 
by  far  the  most  productive.  As  we  have  seen,  its  lands  and 
slaves  have  risen  annually  in  value,  step  by  step  with  the  rising 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  147 

value  of  their  productions,  and  the  resulting  wealth  is  reflected 
in  the  magnificence  of  the  North. 

The  North  has  been  concentrating  wealth  and  cheap  lahnr, 
thus  strengthening  its  position  as  manufacturer  for  the  Union, 
and  paving  the  Avay  for  the  export  of  a  large  surplus  of  manu- 
factures, when  the  South  and  West  shall  have  made  furtlicr 
progress  in  supplj'ing  themselves.  It  has  enjoyed  the  entire 
markets  of  the  Union  as  a  means,  so  to  speak,  of  learning  its 
trade.  It  has  retained  the  whole  carrying  trade  of  the  country 
for  its  shipping.  It  has  received  a  bounty  in  higli  tariffs  dni-ing 
its  weakness,  to  defend  it  from  importation,  and  it  has  g-adu- 
alh'  acquired  strength  in  experience,  capital,  and  skill.  It  had 
before  it  a  most  brilliant  future,  but  it  has  wantonly  disturbed 
that  future  by  encouraging  the  growth  of  a  political  party  based 
wholly  upon  sectional  aggression, — a  party  which  proposes  no 
issues  of  statesmanship  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  country  ;  it" 
advances  nothing  of  a  domestic  or  foreign  policy  tending  to 
national  profit  or  protection,  or  to  promote  the  general  welfare 
in  any  way.  It  simply  denounces  the  system  of  labor  which 
has  conferred  such  prosperity  upon  the  North,  as  a  "  moral 
■wrong."  While  it  disavows  any  intention  of  interfering  with 
servitude  at  the  South,  it  encoui-ages,  in  every  possible  way,  ail  . 
that  tends  to  undermine  it.  It  enters  the  connnon  national^ 
dwelling,  and  scatters  firebrands  amid  the  most  solemn  protes- 
tations of  harmless  intentions.  It  claims  the  right  to  explode 
mines,  without  being  answerable  for  the  mischief  that  may  re- 
sult. If  questioned  as  to  the  object  of  such  conduct,  it  replies, 
that  it  is  one  of  its  "  inalienable  rights"  so  to  act,  and  tliat  cer- 
tain pei-sons  who  have  combustible  materials  have  had  the  ef- 
frontery to  express  feare  of  the  consequences,  and  therefore  it  is 
tlie  more  bound  to  persist.  It  is  for  such  reasoning  as  this  tliat 
the  North  has  for  more  than  ten  years  constantly  allowed  itself 
to  be  irritated  by  incendiary  speakers  and  writers,  whose  sole 
stock  in  trade  is  the  unreasoning  hate  against  the  South  tliat 
may  be  engendered  by  long-continued  irritating  misrepresenta- 
tion. 

From  time  to  time  in  the  liistory  of  the  country  tlie  attempt 
has  been  made  to  acquire  party  strength  by  stirring  up  slum- 
bering passions,  and  these  attempts  have  always  been  made 
imder  the  cloak  of  philanthropy.  These  attempts  have  gener- 
ally failed,  but  their  repetition,  with  greater  violence,  from 
time  to  time,  has  warped  the  truth  in  relation  to  the  real  posi- 


148  Southern  Wealth  and  JVorthern  Profits. 


the  monstrous  doctrine  has  acquired  strength,  that  one  species 
of  property,  recognized  by  the  Federal  Constitution,  is  without 
protection  on  Federal  soil !  Thus,  the  speech  of  William  H. 
Seward,  Esq.,  in  the  national  Senate,  on  the  29th  of  February, 
laying  down  the  platform  of  the  party  of  which  he  is  the  chief, 
remarked : 

J  "  The  fathers  authorized  Congress  to  make  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  concerning  the  management  and  disposition  of 
the  public  lauds,  and  to  admit  new  States.  So  the  Constitu- 
tion, while  it  does  not  disturb  or  affect  the  system  of  capital 
in  slaves,  existing  in  any  State  imder  its  own  laws,  does,  at  the 
same  time,  recognize  evern/  human  heing,  when  within  any  ex- 
cktsive  sphere  of  Federal  jurisdiction^  not  as  cajpital^  hut  as  a 

\person. 

"What  was  the  action  of  the  fathers  in  Congress?  They 
admitted  the  new  States  of  the  Southwest  as  capital  States, 
because  it  w^as  practically  impossible  to  do  otherwise,  and  by 
the  ordinance  of  1787,  confirmed  in  1789,  they  provided  for 
the  organization  and  admission  of  only  labor  States  in  the 
Northwest.  They  directed  fugitives  from  service  to  be  re- 
stored, not  as  chattels,  but  as  persons.  They  awarded  natural- 
ization to  immigrant  free  laborers,  and  they  prohibited  the 
trade  in  African  labor.  This  disposition  of  the  whole  subject 
was  in  harmony  with  the  condition  of  society,  and,  in  the  main, 
with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  The  seven  ISTorthern  States  content- 
edly became  labor  States  by  their  own  acts.  The  six  Southern 
States  with  equal  tranquillity,  and  by  their  own  determination, 
remained  capital  States." 

We  have  italicized  the  lines  which  contain  the  erroneous 
assumption  to  which  we  have  alluded.  The  spirit  of  the 
assertion  therein  contained  is  contradicted  in  the  succeeding 
lines,  which  claims  that  Congress  conferred  slavery  upon  six 
States,  and  prohibited  it  in  seven — ^in  a  part  of  which  it  had 
existed  before  the  territory  became  the  property  of  the  Union. 
Since  the  only  powers  possessed  by  the  Constitution  are  those 
especially  delegated  to  it,  the  exercise  of  the  power  on  the  part 
of  Congress  to  "confer"  involves  that  of  "exclusion,"  If  it 
has  power  over  any  subject  at  all,  it  has  the  affirnuitive  as  well 
as  the  negative.  It  is,  however,  with  the  iirst  assertion  that 
we  have  now  to  deal,  viz.,  that  the  Constitution  recognizes 
blacks  only  as  "  persons."     This  assertion  is  contrary  to  both 


Soxithern  Wealth  and  Northern.  Profits.  140 

the  law  and  the  fact.  At  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the 
Federal  Constitution,  the  Law  of  nations  recognized  hiwi'ul 
property  in  African  shives  tln-ongiiont  the  civilized  worhl. 
In  tliis  country,  they  had  been  so  held  in  every  part  of  it 
from  its  earHest  settlement.  No  colony  was  without  ownei-s 
of  lilack  property,  and  none  doubted  the  legality  of  the  liold- 
ing.  It  M-as  about  that  date  tluit  the  agitators  in  England 
began  to  question  tjie  humanity  of  the  negro,  and  to  seek  to 
raise  him  to  the  level  of  the  white.  With  this  experimental 
idea,  necessarily  was  born  the  doubt  of  the  right  to  hold  him 
as  property.  England  was  then  beginning  that  experiment  in 
humanizing  blacks  that  has  ended  so  disastrously,  and  which  so 
clearly  demonstrates  the  fallacy  of  the  theory  of  black  equality. 
It  was  not  surprising  that  the  generous-hearted  of  our  own 
statesmen  should  have  adopted  the  seductive,  but  untried 
theory,  and  hesitate  about  the  rightfulness  of  "  holding  prop- 
erty in  man."  ^Nevertheless,  the  fact  of  the  property  in  negroes 
existed,  and  the  Constitution  was  framed  in  the  recognition  of 
it.  It  has  since  been  attempted  to  dispute  whether  the  Con- 
stitution recognized  the  blacks  as  property,  or  as  persons  on!}/. 
The  generally  received  opinion,  when  the  Cpnstitution  was 
adopted,  was  that  it  recognized  blacks  as  "proj^erty"  only. 
The  ultra  men  of  that  day  contended  that  the  Constitution 
regarded  them  as  something  more  than  property,  raising  them 
to  the  level  of  "  moral  persons."  Gradually  ultra  men  denied 
that  they  are  property  at  all  under  the  Constitution.  Mr. 
Seward  and  his  party  are  of  those  who  contend  for  the  latter, 
thus  reversing  the  judgment  which  was  held  by  the  inen  who 
n'lade  the  Constitution.  If  we  go  back  to  the  highest  contein- 
porancous-.authority,  we  find  Mr.  Jay,  in  the  Federalist^  states 
it  as  follows: 

"  We  must  deny  the  fact  that  slaves  are  considered  merel}' 
as  property,  and  in  no  respect  whatever  as  persons.  The  true 
state  of  the  case  is,  that  they  partake  of  both  these  qualities, 
being  considered  by  our  laws  in  some  respects  as  persons,  and 
in  other  respects  as  property.  In  being  compelled  to  hilx-r, 
not  for  himself,  but  for  a  master;  in  being  vendible  by  one 
master  to  another  master;  and  in  being  subject  at  all  times  to 
be  restrained  in  his  liberty  and  chastised  in  his  body,  by  the 
capricious  will  of  his  owner;  the  slave  may  appear  to  be  de- 
graded from  the  human  rank,  and  classed  with  tlmsc  irrational 


150  Southern  Wealth  and  Nortlienm  Profits. 

animals  -which  fall  imder  the  legal  denomination  of  property. 
h\  being  protected,  on  the  other  hand,  in  his  life  and  in  his 
limbs,  against  the  violence  of  all  others,  even  the  master  of  his 
labor  and  his  liberty ;  and  in  being  punishable  himself  for  ail 
violence  committed  against  others ;  the  slave  is  no  less  evi- 
dently regarded  by  the  law  as  a  member  of  the  society,  not 
as  a  part  of  the  irrational  creation  ;  as  a  moral  person,  not  as 
a  mere  article  of  property.  The  Federal  Constitution,  there- 
fore, decides  M'ith  great  propriety  on  the  case  of  our  slaves, 
when  it  views  them  in  the  mixed  character  of  persons  and  prop- 
erty. This  is,  in  fact,  their  true  character ;  it  is  the  character 
bestowed  on  them  by  the  laws  under  which  they  live,  and  it 
will  not  be  disputed  that  tliese  are  the  proper  criterion." 

This  was  the  view  of  Mr.  Jay  in  opposition  to  those  who  at 
that  day  contended  that  slaves  were  property  merely.  There 
is  a  long  stride  from  that  position  to  the  present  assertion  of 
the  "Black  Republicans,"  that  slaves  are  "persons  merely.^'' 
The  progress  of  this  aggression  upon  tlie  South  and  Southern 
rights  in  property  is  thus  verj^  clear.  The  Constitutional  "prop- 
erty" view  of  the  black  position  was  not  left  to  be  a  barren 
idea ;  but  undSr  this  view  of  "  property"  in  blacks.  Congress 
proceeded  to  act.  A  law  was  passed  March  2,  1807,  of  which 
the  9th  and  10th  sections  j^rovide  in  substance  as  follows : 
"  That  the  captain  of  any  vessel  of  more  than  forty  tons  bur- 
den, sailing  coastwise  from  one  port  of  the  United  States  to 
another,  having  on  board  persons  of  color,  to  be  transported  in 
order  to  be  sold  or  disposed  of  as  slaves,  shall  make  out  and 
subscribe  duplicate  manifests,  describing  those  slaves,  and 
shall,  with  the  owner  or  master,  swear  that  they  are  not  held 
to  service  or  labor  contrary  to  any  law  of  the  United  States,  or 
of  the  State." 

The  9th  section  goes  on  to  jDrovide  that  the  Collector 
shall  thereupon  grant  a  permit  to  the  master,  authorizing 
liim  to  transport  these  slaves  to  the  port  where  they  are 
to  be  unladen,  and  forfeits  any  vessel  departing  without  the 
manifest. 

Section  10th  provides — "Tliat  the  master  of  every  vessel 
having  on  board  j^ersons  of  color,  to  sell  or  dispose  of  as 
slaves,  shall,  upon  arriving  at  his  port  of  destination,  before 
'unlading  these  persons,  exhibit  a  copy  of  the  manifest  to  the 
Collector."     And  the  penalty  for  a  refusal  by  the  master  of  a 


Sou//tt'ni  Wraith  and  Northern  Profits.  151 

•fcssol,  laden  as  aforesaid,  to  deliver  the  inanitest  to  the  Collec- 
tor, is  fixed  at  ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  laws  of  the  United  States  have  thus  lawfully  placed  the 
Blave  on  board  a  vessel  of  the  United  States, — have  provided 
\n  what  manner  he  shall  be  lawfully  embarked, — in  what  man- 
\ier  he  shall  be  landed  at  the  port  of  destination, — rei,nilatin_<r 
the  trade  altogether  m  the  manner  of  "property,"  and  that  on 
the  high  seas  under  the  national  flag. 

The  object  of  the  law  thus  regulating  the  transportation  of 
black  property,  had  special  reference  to  the  safety  of  that 
property  in  positions  where  it  might  be  imperilled,  viz.,  on  the 
high  seas,  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State,  but  under  the 
national  flag.  The  idea  had,  probably,  not  then  been  broached, 
that  the  property  of  American  citizens  could  be  imperilled  on 
the  soil  of  the  common  country,  by  persons,  who,  having  aban- 
doned their  own  similar  "property,"  might  seek  to  destroy  that 
of  their  neighbors. 

We  find,  in  a  contemporaneous  history,  a  debate  which  took 
place  Jan.  2,  1799,  during  the  administration  of  John  Adams, 
and  which  throws  some  light  on  the  views  of  Noi-theni 
legislators  of  that  day  upon  the  same  subject.  On  the  day 
mentioned,  Mr.  Wain,  of  Philadelphia,  presented  a  petition, 
praying  for  "a  revision  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  rela- 
tive to  the  slave-trade;  of  the  act  relative  to  fugitives  from 
justice;  and  for  the  adoption  of  such  measures  as  should  in 
due  time  emancipate  the  whole  of  their  brethren  from  their 
disagreeable  situation." 

Mr.  Kutledge  opposed  the  petition.  "  The  gentlemen,"  said 
he,  "  who  formerly  used  to  advocate  liberty,  have  retreated  from 
their  post,  and  committed  the  important  trust  to  the  care  of 
"  black  patriots ;"  they  tell  the  house  they  are  in  slavery :  thank 
God  they  are.  They  say  they  are  nf)t  represented  :  certainly 
they  ai-e  not ;  and  I  trust  the  day  will  never  arrive  when  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  will  dis])lay  a  parti-colored  as- 
£embl3^  Too  much  of  this  new-fangled  French  philusoj)hy  of 
liberty  and  equality  has  found  its  way  among  these  gentlemen 
of  our  plantations,  for  which  nothing  will  do  but  liberty." 

"Harrison  G.  Otis,  of  Massachusetts,  brought  forward  his 
usual  eloquence  on  this  occasion.  He  said  that  thougli  he  pos- 
sessed no  slaves,  he  saw  no  reason  why  others  might  not  ;  and 
that  the  proprietors  of  them  were  the  fittest  persons,  and  n(»t 
Congress,  to  regulate  that  sj)ecies  of  property." 


152  Southern  Wealth  and  JS/'orthern  Profits. 

Mr.  Tliatcher,  to  the  surprise  of  many,  differed  from  his 
countryman,  and  thought  the  petitions  for  black  men  deserved 
equal  consideration  with  those  for  whites.'' 

"  Mr.  Brown,  of  Ehode  Island,  argued  that  the  petition  was 
but  the  contrivance  of  a  combination  of  Jacobins,  who  had 
troubled  Congress  for  many  years  past,  and  he  feared  never 
would  cease.  He  begged,  therefore,  that  the  gentleman  who 
put  the  petition  on  the  table,  might  be  desired  to  take  it  back 
again.  He  was  truly  sorry  to  see  such  a  dangerous  paper  sup- 
ported by  such  a  worthy  member  of  the  House,  and  good  Fed- 
eralist, as  Mr.  Thatcher." 

This  incident  is  curious,  since  it  shows  that  the  "  Black  Pa- 
triots" of  1799 — a  "•  combination  of  Jacobins,"  who  "  never 
would  cease  troubling  Congress" — are  the  Black  Eepublicans 
of  the  present  day,  still  troubling  it.  While  Mr.  Thatcher,  "  a 
good  Federalist,"  was  the  only  one  advocating  the  "  troubling," 
Mr.  Harrison  Gray  Otis  refei'red  the  "  property"  to  its  "  pro- 
prietors." The  "  Federalist"  party,  of  which  Mr.  Thatcher  was 
a  "good  one,"  also  passed,  in  the  Massachusetts  Legislature, 
the  resolution  to  "dissolve  the  Union,"  if  Louisiana  should 
be  annexed.  That  party  has  "  dissolved"  on  the  occasion  of 
every  new  Slave  State  added  to  the  Union  since  the  annexa- 
tion, no  matter  what  "  name"  the  party  may  have  assumed  for 
the  moment.  The  free-territory  question  has  ever  been  re- 
vived when  it  was  thought  useful  to  "  defeat  the  Democrats," 
which  seems  to  have  been  its  leading  principle  on  all  occa- 
sions, and  at  the  present  moment  its  "  sole"  principle. 

John  Adams  was  a  shoemaker  in  Braintree,  Mass.  When 
out  of  his  time  he  studied  law,  on  the  advice  of  his  uncle,  a 
schoolmaster.  He  became,  after  the  Revolution,  the  leader  of 
the  monarchal  party,  and  his  leading  idea  was  "  hereditary 
rulers  ;"  and  through  his  influence  the  alien  and  sedition  laws 
Avere  enacted.  The  former  gave  the  executive  absolute  power 
over  foreigners  who  arrived,  and  they  were  imprisoned  and 
expelled  for  no  reason  but  the  will  of  the  executive.  The  law 
of  Congress  in  relation  to  the  importation  of  such  persons  as 
any  other  States  chose  to  admit  until  1808,  was  held  to  apply 
only  to  negroes  ;  hence  the  alien  law,  originated  by  that 
founder  of*  the  party  now  known  as  the  Black  Republican 
party,  was  allowed  to  operate  against  whites. 

There  was  but  one  idea  at  that  time  in  the  countjy.  All  the 
States  of  the  Union,  the  Federal  Constitution,  the  laws  of  Con- 


Soid/iern  Wealth  and  Xorthivn  J^roft.^.  153 

gress,  the  popular  mind,  and  the  tlieories  of  legislator?,  all 
acknowledged  property  in  slaves,  and,  as  an  inevitable  conse- 
quence, that  the  "property"  was  as  much  entitled  to  protection 
under  the  national  flag,  or  on  the  federal  soil,  as  any  other 
possession.  The  slave-owner,  with  his  property  embarked 
upon  the  high  seas,  had,  by  express  statute,  the  national  flag, 
as  an  a^gis,  thrown  around  him,  to  protect  him  from  both  the 
foreign  and  domestic  assailant ;  and  yet  we  are  told  that  if  ho 
M-alked  forth  on  the  open  prairie — on  the  national  soil,  owned 
by  the  coumion  government  and  regulated  by  its  laws — that 
he  was  therein  without  recognition,  and  without  protection ; 
that  his  property  is  the  prey  of  the  spoiler ;  his  civil  rights 
lost  in  the  mire  of  free-soilism,  and  his  complaints  the  derision 
of  those  who  there  hold  other  property  under  laws  that  are 
nugatory  for  him  !  The  doctrine  is  monstrous,  and  born  only 
of  a  desperate  party  faction,  which  seeks  power  by  any  means, 
no  matter  liow  dangerous,  disreputable,  or  deceitful.  The  ter- 
ritories of  the  government  are  said  not  to  be  States,  but  be- 
come so  only  when  a  sufficient  number  of  persons  shall  have 
settled  to  entitle  them  to  admission.  Tlie  flrst  settlers,  it  is 
said,  carry  into  a  new  territory  the  laws  of  the  States  they 
have  left,  and  their  affairs  are  so  governed  until  a  territorial 
Legislature  shall  have  devised  laws  that  are  subject  to  the  re- 
vision of  Congress.  It  is,  then,  very  clear  that  settlers  upon 
new  territorj^ — not  being  in,  any  State,  but  having  one  before 
them  in  the  future — are  in  their  passage  from  one  State  to 
another,  and  slave  property  is  under  the  special  protection  of 
Congress  in  such  circumstances.  If,  when  the  new  State  shall 
have  been  formed,  a  majority  abolish  slavery  in  the  exercise 
of  Stale  sovereignty,  as  the  Northern  States  have  done,  the  loss 
will  fall  upon  the  owner,  he  having  passed  without  the  pro- 
tecting influence  of  the  Federal  laws. 

That  protection  to  Southern  "  property,"  recognized  in  the 
Constitution  as  such,  when  on  Federal  soil  outside  of  the  States, 
is  the  only  offset  that  the  South  possesses  to  the  special  advan- 
tages conferred  on  Northern  interests  and  industry  dm-ing  70 
years  past.  The  flsheries  of  the  Xorth,  as  we  have  seen,  re- 
ceived nearly  $13,000,000  hard  cash— two-thirds  paid  to  Mas- 
sachusetts. The  Northern  manufactures  have  been  ])rotected 
by  a  duty  which  has  laid  all  Southern  consumers  of  Northern 
goods  under  tribute  to  the  manufacturers,  and  Northern  ship- 
ping has  had  a  monopoly  of  carrying,  by  virtue  of  laws  which 


154  Southerii  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

exclude  foreign  ships  from  the  coasting  trade.  In  return  for 
those  special  advantages,  all  the  South  has  claimed  is  the  con- 
stitutional protection  to  her  property  nnder  the  national  flag, 
and  that  has  been. denied.  With  these  facts  patent  to  the  world, 
Mr.  Seward,  in  his  late  speech,  had  the  effrontery  to  ask : 

"What  are  the  excuses  for  these  menaces?  They  resolve 
themselves  into  this,  That  the  Republican  party  in  the  Kortli 
is  hostile  to  the  South.  But  it  already  "is  proved  to  be  a  ma- 
jority in  the  N"orth ;  it  is,  therefore,  practicall}'^  the  people  of 
the  ISTorth.  Will  it  not  still  be  the  same  North  that  has  for- 
borne with  you  so  long,  and  conceded  to  you  so  much?  Can 
you  justly  assume  that  affection,  w^iicli  has  been  so  complying, 
can  all  at  once  change  to  hatred,  intense  and  inexorable  ?" 

Truly,  a  forbearing  and  conceding  party  that  has  been  !  In 
the  same  sense,  the  speaker  denied  that  the  party  is  sectionaL 
In  his  view  of  it,  it  certainly  is  not.  If  the  Eepublicans  can 
have  the  whole,  and  govern  the  whole,  they  go  in  for  the 
whole  ; — there  is  no  "  sectionality"  in  that.  If  they  cannot 
have  the  whole,  they  will  ruin  the  whole ;  and  no  one  will 
perceive  sectionality  in  that. 

The  Constitution  also  provides  that  slaves  who  escape  into 
other  States  "  shall,  in  consequence  of  no  laws  or  regulations 
therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be 
delivered  up."  Pursuant  to  this,  a  fugitive-slave  law  was  one 
of  the  first  passed  by  Congress,  and  its  operation  was  con- 
tinued down  to  the  adoption,  by  the  "  old  Federalist  party," 
of  the  English  anti-slavery  sentiments,  on  the  strength  of  which 
tliey  have  become  the  "  Black  Republfcan"  party.  By  this 
party,  armed  resistance  was  offered  to  the  execution  of  the 
Federal  law,  affording  an  illustration  of  the  following  clause 
from  Washington's  Farewell  Address  : 

"  The  Constitution,  which  at  any  time  exists  till  changed  \^' 
an  explicit  and  authentic  act  of  the  whole  people,  is  sacredly 
obligatory  upon  all.  The  very  idea  of  the  power  and  the  right 
of  the  people  to  establish  government  presupposes  the  duty  of 
of  every  individual  to  obey  the  established  government. 

"All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws;  all  combina- 
tions and  associations,  under  whatever  plausible  character,  with 
the  real  design  to  direct,  control,  counteract,  or  awe  the  regu- 
lar deliberation  and  action  of  the  constituted  authorities,  are 
destructive  of  this  fulidamental  principle,  and  of  fatal  ten- 
dency.    They  serve  to  organize  faction,  to  give  it  an  artificial 


So  id  horn  Wealth  and  NortheDi  Prnfit.-t.  155 

and  extraordinary  force,  to  put  in  the  place  of  the  delei^ated 
■svill  of  the  nation  the  will  of  a  party,  often  a  small  bnt  artful 
and  enterprising  minority  of  the  comninnity  ;  and,  according 
to  the  alternate  triumphs  of  different  parties,  to  make  the  pub- 
lic administration  the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerted  and  incon- 
gruous projects  of  ftiction,  rather  than  the  organ  of  consistent 
and  wholesome  plans,  digested  by  common  councils,  and  uKxli- 
fied  by  mutual  interests. 

"  However  combinations  or  associations  of  the  above  de- 
scription may  now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  they  are 
likely,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  to  become  potent 
engines  by  which  cunning,  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  men 
will  be  enabled  to  subvert  the  power  of  the  people,  and  to 
usurp  for  themselves  the  reins  of  government ;  destroying, 
afterwards,  the  very  engines  which  had  lifted  them  to  unjust 
dominion." 

The  clear  rays  of  Washington's  sagacity  thus,  at  a  distance 
of  54:  years,  accurately  photographed  the  "  Black  Eepublican" 
party.  There  is  nothing  wanting  but  to  add  the  names  of 
Seward,  Sumner,  and  Smith,  to  John  Brown,  Beecher,  and 
Brotherhood,  to  make  it  perfect.  The  party  that  these  persons 
represent  and  illustrate  is,  on  its  face,  a  bald  sham.  It  pro- 
fesses to  respect  the  rights  of  sovereign  States,  and  to  have  no 
intention  of  interfering  with  the  institution  of  slavery  within 
them.  The  chief  of  the  party,  in  his  recent  speech  in  the 
National  Senate,  stated : 

"  The  choice  of  the  nation  is  now  between  the  Democratic 
party  and  the  Eepublican  party.  Its  principles  and  policy  are, 
therefore,  justly  and  even  necessarily  examined.  I  know  of 
only  one  policy'  Avhich  it  has  adopted  or  avowed,  namely,  the 
saving  of  the  Territories  of  the  United  States,  if  possible,  by 
constitutional  and  lawful  means,  from  being  homes  lor  slavery 
and  polygamy." 

This  "  one  policy  adopted"  is,  it  appears,  to  save  territories 
from  the  institution  of  slavery.  The  last  word  in  the  (piotation 
indicates  the  late  mission  of  Mr.  Seward's  editor  to  Utah.  In 
relation  to  the  States  the  speaker  remarked  : 

"But  we  do  not  seek  to  force,  or  even  to  intrude,  our  system 
on  you.  We  are  excluded  justly,  wisely,  and  contentedly  from 
all  political  power  and  responsibility  in  your  cajtital  States. 
You  are  sovereigns  on  the  subject  of  slavery  within  yom-  own 
borders,  as  we  are  on  the  same  subject  within  our  Ijorders.     It 


156  *  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

is  well  and  wisely  so  arranged.  Use  your  antliority  to  main- 
tain what  system  you  please.  We  are  not  distrustful  of  the  re- 
sult. We  have  wisely,  as  we  think,  exercised  ours  to  protect 
and  perfect  the  manhood  of  the  members  of  the  State.  The 
whole  sovereignty  upon  domestic  concerns  within  the  Union  is 
divided  between  us  by  unmistakable  boundaries.  You  have 
3'our  fifteen  distinct  parts ;  we  eighteen  parts,  equally  distinct. 
Each  must  be  maintained  in  order  that  the  whole  may  be  pre- 
served. If  ours  shall  be  assailed,  within  or  without,  by  any 
enem}^,  or  for  any  cause,  and  we  shall  have  need,  we  shall  ex- 
pect you  to  defend  it.  If  yours  shall  be  so  assailed,  in  the 
emergency,  no  matter  what  the  cause  or  the  pretext,  or  who 
the  foe,  we  shall  defend  your  sovereignty  as  the  equivalent  of 
our  own.  We  cannot,  indeed,  accept  your  system  of  capital  or 
its  ethics.  That  would  be  to  surrender  and  subvert  our  own, 
which  we  esteem  to  be  better.  Besides,  if  we  could,  what  need 
for  any  division  into  States  at  all  ?  You  are  equally  at  liberty 
to  reject  our  system  and  its  ethics,  and  to  maintain  the  superi- 
ority of  your  own  by  all  the  forces  of  persuasion  and  argument. 
We  must,  indeed,  mutually,  discuss  both  systems.  All  the 
world  discusses  all  systems.  Especially  must  we  discuss  them, 
since  we  have  to  decide  as  a  nation  which  of  the  two  we  ought 
to  ingraft  On  the  new  and  future  States  growing  up  in  the  great 
public  domain.  Discussion,  then,  being  unavoidable,  what 
could  be  more  wise  than  to  conduct  it  with  mutual  toleration 
and  in  a  fraternal  spirit?" 

The  question  of  slavery  in  Territories  settles  itself  according 
to  the  adaptation  of  the  soil  to  slave-labor.  This  is  not  a  mat- 
ter of  sentiment  or  surmise,  it  is  simply  a  matter  of  experience 
and  history.  The  whole  of  the  Northern  Free  States  were  once 
"the  hojnes  of  slavery."  They  all  possessed  that  "property," 
and  they  all  gradually  abandoned  it  as  of  no  practical  value. 
This  process  is  now  going  on  in  the  Northern  Slave  States.  We 
have  seen  in  the  table,  page  120,  that  the  free  negroes  in  Dela- 
ware were  as  1  to  2  of  the  slaves  in  1790,  and  as  9  to  1  in  1850. 
In  Maryland  the  free  blacks  were  to  the  slaves,  in  1790,  as  1  to 
13  ;  and  in  1850  they  were  as  1  to  1^.  In  Yirginia  tliey  rose 
from  I'to  20  to  1  to  S|-.  Nine  States  holding  slaves  in  1709  abol- 
ished the  institution  within  30  years  of  that  date.  The  reason  for 
doing  so  was  not  philanthropic  nor  yet  political,  but  simply  a  mat- 
ter of  dollars  and  cents.  Slave-labor  in  that  region  was  not  worth 
having.     This  economical  princii^le  it  is  which  governs  slavery 


Southe7'^}i  Wealth  cmd  Xorthei-n  Profits.  l.')? 

in  the  Territories.  Slavery  will  not  go  on  to  any  of  tlic  })rosent 
unappropriated  Territory  of  the  nation,  for  the  reason  that  it 
would  not  be  profitable  to  go  there.  If  it  should  do  so  it  would 
be  certain  to  lose.  Because  the  fntnre  States  would  abolish 
the  institution  on  account  of  its  inutility;  and  would,  like  Ohio, 
Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Minnesota,  forbid  blacks  from  coining  in 
at  all.  either  bond  or  free.  These  are  fixed  and  well-known 
principles  ;  and  when  a  party  of  political  hucksters  profess  only 
"  one  policy,"  that  of  keeping  slavery  out  by  virtue  of  their 
acts,  they  profess  only  a  bald  sham,  which  is  an  insult  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  people  whose  votes  they  seek.  As  well 
might  a  party  of  political  traders  point  to  the  influx  and  eifiux 
of  the  tide,  and  pretend  that  their  efiforts  alone  prevent  the 
fiirm-lands  of  the  Atlantic  from  being  drowned  at  each  recur- 
ring flood.  Barefaced  as  would  be  such  an  assumption,  it  is 
not  more  baseless  than  the  pretence  that  Kansas  was  "  saved 
to  freedom"  by  Brown  and  Beecher.  There  is  no  man  of  in- 
telligence who  does  not  know  that  if  Kansas  had  been  made 
a  Slave  State,  and  any  number  of  slaves  had  been  carried 
into  it,  that  a  very  short  time  only  would  elapse  before  those 
slaves  would  have  been  emancipated  by  State  laws,  and  conse- 
quently "freedom"  would  have  gained  instead  of  losing.  If, 
then,  we  are  to  believe  the  assertion  of  the  Black  Hepublican 
leader,  the  "  one  policy"  only  "  of  which  he  knows"  is  a  gross 
deception.  It  has  no  practical  force  or  meaning  beyond  its 
use,  as  a  means  of  irritating  the  popular  mind,  in  order  to  turn 
votes  to  the  party,  on  the  strength  of  that  exasperation  ;  yet  he 
denominates  this  sham  "the  great  national  issue  between  irca 
labor  and  capital  labor  for  the  territories,"  that  parties  are 
"  conducting  to  its  proper  solution." 

^Notwithstanding  these  disclaimers  of  the  leader  in  the  jiart 
of  "  moderator,"  seeking  to  retain  those  partisans  who  see 
more  danger  than  profit  in  the  gratuitous  agitation  of  .this  de- 
ceptive issue,  the  active  partisans  are  earnest  in  their  deifica- 
tions of  John  Brown,  and  virulent  in  their  hatred  of  the  South. 

Mr.  Seward  himself  seems  to  have  been  as  unfortunate  in  his 
partnership  with  John  Brown  as  he  was  with  the  Auburn  rum- 
seller  during  the  Temperance  campaign  in  Xew  York.  In  the 
latter  case  he  put  §2000  capital  into  i)ai-tnership  to  sell  "i)aints, 
oils,"  &c.,  but  his  zealous,  money-making  "young  partner^' 
construed  the  "tfec."  into  champagne  and  "fine  old  ])randies." 
Mr.  Seward,  in  his  published  apology,  elicited  by  public  sur- 


158  Southern^^Yealth  and  J^orthern  Profits. 

prise,  stated  that  he  had  been  overreached  by  his  partner  in 
drawing  the  papers,  and  could  not  now  help  himself.  History 
does  not  record  whether  he  pocketed  the  profits  on  the  cham- 
pagne and  brandies,  but  the  chances  are  that  he  did.  The 
North  Carolina  teacher,  and  shrewd  New  York  lawj^er  and 
apostle  of  temperance,  was  turned  into  a  rumseller  by  the  will 
of  a  journeyman  painter.  In  the  Free-soil  business  he  was  not 
more  fortunate.  He  went  into  business  with  John  Brown,  to 
deal  in  freedom,  &c.,  in  Kansas.  John  Brown,  however,  hav- 
ing got  possession  of  his  stock  in  trade,  construed  the  "  &c." 
into  invading  Virginia,  to  rob  and  slaughter  the  whites,  and 
stampede  the  negroes.  Mr.  Seward  is  again  in  a  dilemma  with 
his  "  young  partner."  John  Brown's  strong  doctrine  is  as  ob- 
jectionable as  the  Auburn  partner's  strong  drink,  and  he  is 
compelled  to  repudiate  John  Brown  to  satisfy  the  temperate 
people,  although  the  ]3artnership  continues  by  contract,  and  the 
profits  will  accinie  in  due  time  to  the  poor,  victimized  "  sleep- 
ing partner." 

The  system  of  irritation  against  the  South  has  long  been  a 
staple  for  Eastern  agitation.  Under  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  blacks  are  not  citizens.  It  is  only  of  late  years  that  the 
attempt  has  been  made  to  enforce  that  attribute  of  citizenship 
upon  them.  The  Western  States,  on  their  formation,  nearly  all 
of  them  as  we  have  seen,  enacted  laws  excluding  blacks  from 
their  territories,  and  their  right  to  do  so  has  never  been  dis- 
puted, although,  as  citizens,  the  blacks  could  not  legally  have 
iDcen  excluded.  The  Southern  States  have  done  the  same  thing 
in  many  cases,  and  the  coast  States,  where  vessels  navigate  be- 
tween the  North  and  the  South,  found  it  necessary  to  restrain 
such  free  blacks  as  came  from  the  North  in  the  capacity  of  sea- 
men, while  in  Southern  ports.  Tlius,  under  the  law  passed  by 
Ohio,  a  vessel  from  Buffalo  with  a  free  negro  in  it,  would  be 
subjected  to  $500  fine,  and  other  punishment.  A  vessel  arriv- 
ing at  Charleston,  S.  C,  from  Boston,  with  a  free  negro  in  it, 
would  only  be  required  to  restrain  the  negro  of  his  liberty  until 
the  vessel  sailed. 

The  Free  State  law  was  much  more  severe  than  the  Slave 
State  law,  and  neither  treated  the  black  as  a  citizen.  Massa- 
chusetts, however,  never  took  any  notice  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Western  States,  but  picked  a  quarrel  with  South  Carolina  be- 
cause they  restrained  a  "  Massachusetts  citizen"  of  his  liberty. 
Every  art  was  used  in  Boston  to   inflame   the   p\iblic  mind 


Southern  Wealth  cnul  Xorthern  Profits.  ir.D 

against  the  "infamous"  conduct  of  South  Carolina,  and  Mv. 
Hoar  was  sent  thither  as  a  commissioner  from  Massachusetts,  to 
bully  South  Carolina  into  repealing  their  laws,  without  success. 
The  United  States  courts  have  long  decided  that  blacks  are  not 
citizens,  and  it  was  as  well  known  before  Mr.  Hoar's  mission  as 
afterwards.  The  effect  was,  however,  to  sustain  excitement  for 
party  purposes,  and  with  success.  Mr.  Sumner  owes  his  polit- 
ical rise  simply  to  those  factious  irritations,  and  it  was  to 
pander  to  those  puerile  and  baseless  passions,  causelessly  ex- 
cited, that  he  made  that  famous  speech,  defamatory  of  South 
Carolina,  M'liich  drew  on  him  the  wrath  of  Preston  Brooks. 
The  people  of  South  Carolina  no  more  enacted  those  laws  for 
regulating  the  blacks  out  of  hostility  to  Massachusetts,  than 
Illinois  and  Indiana  did  when  they  enacted  more  severe  laws 
of  the  same  nature.  She  exercised  her  sovereign  right  of  regu- 
lating her  affairs  in  her  own  way,  and  the  attempt  of  Massachu- 
setts to  coerce  her  into  relinquishing  her  sovereign  rights  may 
be  taken,  possibly,  for  one  of  those  concessions  and  forbearances 
which  the  "Black  Republican"  leader  boasts  of  in  the  national 
Senate.  A  party  that  rests  only  on  the  fruition  of  such  animosi- 
ties, so  industriously  sown  among  different  classes  of  the  peo- 
ple during  so  many  years,  and  avowing  but  "one  policy,"  which 
is  to  concentrate  these  animosities  on  so  transparent  a  flam  as 
the  saving  territory  to  freedom  by  law,  can  have  but  one  real 
object,  that  is,  official  spoils,  at  all  and  every  hazard. 

It  is  not  alone  the  unfavorable  nature  of  territorial  soil  which 
checks  that  expansion  of  black  labor,  because  there  are  now 
vast  tracts  of  lands  in  Slave  States  altogether  unoccupied.  It 
is  that  the  black"  force  is  altogether  inadequate  to  the  work  be- 
fore it.  The  civilized  world  is  pressing  upon  that  small  force 
of  blacks  with  an  ever-increasing  demand  for  that  material 
which  they  alone  can  produce.  Under  that  demand  the  ]»ricc 
of  the  product  rises,  and  the  value  of  the  hand  swells  aunnally 
in  amount.  As  a  consequence  every  straggler  is  turned  into 
the  fields,  to  add  ten  more  bales  to  the  annual  crop.  If  we 
turn  back  to  the  chapter  on  the  cotton  cidture  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing facts : 

Crop,  bales.  J^o.  slaves.  Slaves  per  baU. 

1800 35,000  837,095                24 

1820 5o9,i58  1,524,580                 3 

i83o 870.415  2,005,471                  2'/« 

1840 2,177,532  2.48^J.226                 i'« 

2,796,796  3,204.03I                    !'/• 


2,T 

4,5^ 


i860 4,5oo,ooo  4,000,000  Vii 


160  Soxithern  Wealth  and  l^orthern  Profits. 

Thus  the  demand  for  cotton  has  gone  on  to  increase  from 
one  bale  for  24  blacks,  to  26  bales  for  24  blacks,  and  the  price 
rises  on  this  demand.  The  concentration  of  hands, upon  that 
labor  is  immense.  In  all  directions  of  the  Sonth  the  hands  are 
^moving  to  a  common  point — the  cotton-iields.  In  a  recent 
publication  by  John  C.  Abbott,  Esq.,  describing  a  voyage  from 
Cuba,  through  iSTew  Orleans  to  ISTew  York,  he  remarks : 

"  When  the  De  Soto  was  made  fast  to  the  levee,  the  wide  and 
extended  plateau  was  thronged  with  laborers,  but  they  were 
nearly  all  Germans  or  Irish.  Rarely  could  I  see  a  dark  skin. 
It  M'as  tlie  same  in  the  streets  as  we  drove  Jhrough  them. 
Upon  speaking  of  this  to  a  very  intelligent  gentleman,  he  ob- 
served that  the  slaves  were  becoming  so  exceedingly  jDrofitable 
upon  the  plantations  that  large  numbers  had  been  sold  from 
the  city  for  that  purpose." 

It  is  not  the  cotton  alone  that  demands  the  slave-labor,  but 
sugar,  tobacco,  and  other  interests  require  growing  numbers  of 
hands,  for  which  there  is  no  sour(;e  of  supply  but  natural  in- 
crease. It  is  not,  therefore,  a  matter  of  surprise  that  the  blacks 
should  be  taken  from  the  non-productive  employments  of  the 
cities,  and  made  to  furnish  the  present  profitable  productions. 
The  ISTorth  exhibits  a  contrast  to  this — while  the  cities  are  over- 
run with  poor  who  find  no  employment,  the  West  is  destitute 
of  hands  for  harvest.  It  is  in  vain  that  the  papers  preach  to 
the  "  free  laborers"  the  importance  and  benefits  of  farm  labor. 
They  cling  to  the  cities,  crowd  tenement  houses,  and  raise 
numbers  of  pauper  children,  which  in  New  York,  to  some  ex- 
tent, are  collected  in  benevolent  institutions,,  sent  West,  and 
•'bound  out"  to  farmers  for  some  years.  Thus,  on  a  small 
scale  goes  on  at  the  ISTorth  what  is  found  so  generally  necessary 
at  the  South. 

,  The  concentration  of  the  blacks  upon  plantations  leaves  a 
vacancy  in  the  cities  that  is  now  being  supplied,  to  some  extent, 
with  Irish  and  Germans.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  witli  the 
rising  valufe  of  the  black  hands,  and  the  necessity  of  their  con- 
tinued industry,  under  the  imperative  demands  of  the  civilized 
world,  that  there  is  little  room  for  tlie  occupation  of  new  States, 
least  pf  all  such  as  those  of  Kansas,  and  others  not  adapted  to 
the  cotton  culture.  It  may  probably  require  three  times  .the 
number  of  hands  that  now  exist  to  cultivate  the  available  cot- 
ton lands  in  the  present  States,  and  this  supply,  at  the  rate  of 
progress  now  going  on,  will  not  be  reached  in  70  years,  by  nat- 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  161 

ural  means,  wliile  the  deiiiand  upon  tlicni  for  produce  will,  in 
all  probability,  grow  faster  than  their  own  nuyibcrs.  l\\  otlier 
words,  their  value  will  continue  to  rise.  In  this  view,  there  is 
no  chance  of  exteiided  removals  to  new  States.  It  is  true,  at 
this  moment  a  considerable  removal  is  going  on  from  Florida 
to  the  cotton  lands  of  the  valley ;  but  it  is  not  important  in  a 
general  view.  The  migration  tliat  took  place  formerly  into  new 
lands  was  when  the  employment  of  blacks  was  not  so  profita- 
ble as  now,  and  the  richer  lands  of  the  Mississippi  afforded 
greater  inducements.  That  will  not  be  repeated,  since  the 
richest  lands  are  occupied,  and  lack  of  hands  only  prevents  a 
more  extended  cultivation  of  them.  These  general  facts  sliow 
conclusively  how  absurd  it  is  to  pretend  that  the  planters,  with 
their  blacks  so  lucratively  employed,  would  abandon  these  oc- 
cupations to  migrate  into  a  new  State,  where  there  are  no  cot- 
ton lands,  and  which  are  not  adapted  to  slave  labor,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  an  ephcnurul  recognition  of  slavery  under  the  pro- 
spective State  laws.  Vet  this  is  the  ignis  fatuus  held  up  by  the 
Black  Kepublican  agitators,  to  bias  the  popular  mind.  This 
puerile  chimera  is  the  "  one  policy"  for  which  the  North  is 
driven  to  forego  its  position,  its  profits,  and  prosperity.  It  is 
goaded  by  specious  falsehoods  into  distrust  and  hatred  of  the 
South,  which  asks  simply  to  hav6  its  independent  rights  re- 
spected, while  it  supplies  materials,  business,  and  wealth  to  tlio 
North. 

Among  the  great  privileges  that  the  North  has  enjoyed  at  the 
expense  of  the  South  has  been  the  operation  of  t}ie  protective 
tariff  revenues.  The  South,  with  the  full  knowledge  of  their 
injurious  operation,  consented  to  their  imposition  from  purely 
patriotic  motives,  as  a  sacrifice  laid  upon  the  national  altar.  It 
has  ever  been  watchful  of  the  progress  of  the  Union,  and  alter- 
nately leaned  to  the  side  of  the  Federation  when  it  was  too 
weak,^and  to  that  of  the  States  when  it  was  too  strong.  The 
Constitution  of  the  Federal  States  provided  that  the  Federal 
Government,  while  it  had  the  right  to  levy  direct  taxes  ujjon 
all  the  property  of  the  country  for  its  own  use,  also  confei-red 
upon  it  the  exclusive  right  to  levy  taxes  upon  imports.  Tliis 
right  has  been  the  surest  bond  of  union.  The  taxes  laid  under 
it  were  originally  for  revenue  purposes  only.  The  manufac- 
tures of  the  country  were  unimportant,  and  New  England 
interests  being  commercial,  free  trade  was  the  rule,  and  very 
low  duties  were  imposed.     It  followed,  as  a  matter  of  course, 

11 


162  Southern  Wealth  and  Nwthern  Profits. 

that  that  resource  of  revenue  failed  altogether  in  times  of 
embargo  and  wfir,  while  these  circumstances  gave  an  impulse 
to  manufactures.  At  the  peace  of  1815,  the  government  was 
$120,000,000  in  debt;  its  revenues  were  small ;  its  credit  not 
great,  and  the  effort  to  raise  money  bj  direct  taxation  brought 
it  in  conflict  with  the  States  in  many  respects.  Instead  of  em- 
ploying its  own  tax-gatherers,  it  apportioned  the  amount  upon 
the  States,  and  it  was  then  at  their  mercy  to  pay  or  not ;  there 
were  no  means  of  enforcing  payment.  In  this  state  of  affairs 
the  government  became  very  weak,  and  was  in  danger  of  fall- 
ing to  pieces.  It  was  then  that  Mr.  Calhoun  came  forward 
and  devised  a  tariff,  which  not  only  gave  large  revenues  to  the 
government,  making  it  independent  of  the  States,  and  enabling 
it  to  pay  off  its  debt — $10,000,000  per  annum — but  gave  great 
protection  to  manufactures.  He  devised  what  was  called  the 
minimum  system,  by  which  merchandise  was  to  pay  ad  valorem 
down  to  a  certain  point,  below  which  the  duty  should  not  fall. 
Thus,  cottons  were  to  pay  20  per  cent,  duty  as  long  as  the  duty 
amounted  to  more  than  six  cents  per  yard;  but  the  duty  was 
not  to  be  less  than  six  cents.  This  was  the  great  boon  to  E'ew 
England  (which  repaid  South  Carolina  subsequently  by  pick- 
ing a  qnarrel  with  her  on  the  negro  question)  manufacturers, 
as  well  as  a  great  and  indispensable  aid  to  the  Federal  govern- 
.meut,  but  a  great  sacrifice  to  the  South,  where  the  consumers 
of  goods  were  to  pay  the  duty — nevertheless,  it  was  a  tribute  to 
patriotism ;  but  Mr.  Seward  numbers  it  among  the  "  conces- 
sions" of  the  Korth  to  the  South.  Mr.  Calhoun  received  un- 
measured abuse  for  his  pains  from  the  North,  where  the  interests 
were  then  navigation,  and  Daniel  Webster  was  the  great  apostle 
of  free  trade.  A  very  few  years  served  to  make  those  two 
statesmen  change  places.  Under  Mr.  Calhoun's  tariff,  the  Kew 
England  manufacturers  prospered  rapidly  ;  that  interest  came 
to  jjredominate  over  the  commercial  interest,  and  became 
clamorous  for  more  protection.  Daniel  Webster  accordingly 
became  a  protectionist  in  1824,  and  the  tariff"  was  raised. 
Success  stimulated  cupidity,  and  the  "black  tariff"  of  1828 
.marked  the  growth  of  abuse.  The  power  of  the  Eastern  man- 
ufacturers had  become  prodigious;  the  Federal  debt  was  nearly 
paid  oft' ;  the  finances  redundant,  and  power  was  rapidly  con- 
centrated at  the  expense  of  the  States.  The  tendency  of  the 
Fedei-ation,  which  had  been  centrifugal  in  1815,  had  become 
alarmi)igly  centripetal  in  1830.    It  was  then  that  Mr.  Calliouu 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  1C3 

again  stejiped  forth.  He  stated  that  the  South  liad  clieerfully 
paid  the  enormous  burden  of  duties  on  ir.iports  Nvhcn  Northern 
manufacturers  were  young,  and  the  government  weak  ;  they 
had  continued  to  pay  tliera  sixteen  years ;  the  manufacturers 
had  become  rich,  the  government  strong — so  strong  that  State 
rights  were  being  merged  into  its  overshadowing  power ;  ho 
therefore  demanded  a  recognition  of  State  rights,  and  an 
amelioration  of  those  burdens  that  the  South  had  so  long 
borne.  To  the  gallant  resistance  of  South  Carolina,  under 
his  lead,  the  country  owes  the  compromise  tariff  of  1832  by 
Henry  Clay.  It  was  thus  that  Mr,  Calhoun  supported  the 
government  when  it  was  too  weak,  and  opposed  it  when  it  was 
too  strong. 

The  manufactures  at  the  North  had  become  firmly  estab- 
lished under  the  high  duties,  and  did  not  flourish  the  less 
under  the  reduction,  the  more  so  that  prices  rose  steadily 
under  the  financial  inflation  of  the  country.  By  the  com- 
promise of  Mr.  Clay,  the  duties  were  to  undergo  biennial 
reduction,  until  a  common  level  of  20  per  cent,  should  be 
reached  on  all  goods  in  1842.  Before  that  year  financial 
revulsion  made  more  revenue  necessary  for  the  welfare  of 
the  Union,  and  the  South  again  assented  to  an  increase  in 
import  duties,  making  another  of  Mr.  Seward's  "  concessions 
of  the  South." 

The  idea  of  "  concessions"  to  the  South,  seems  to  have  been 
born  of  a  most  extraordinary  degree  of  effrontery  on  the  part 
of  political  agitators.  As  we  have  seen,  from  universal  slave 
owning  and  slave  trading,  with  a  general  recognition  of  blacks 
as  "  property,"  and  property  only,  there  has  been  a  gradual  ag- 
gression upon  that  institution.  Tlie  blacks  were  first  claimed 
as  persons  as  well  as  prpperty,  then  as  persons  only,  then  as 
citizens  of  a  State,  and  finally  as  citizens  of  the  United  Stiites. 
Their  condition  of  slavery  was  gradually  abolished  at  the 
North,  within  the  States  that  owned  them,  and  then  their  pres- 
ence on  the  common  soil  of  the  Union  Avas  denied,  and  the 
abolition  of  the  institution  at  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment was  clamored  for.  All  the  territory  is  now  claimed  as 
exempt  from  slavery,  and  the  abolition  of  slavery  by  force  in 
the  States  where  it  has  always  existed,  is  so  fiir  favored  by  a 
class,  as  to  require  the  most  earnest  denials  from  the  leaders"  of 
the  Republican  party  that  it  is  part  of  their  platform.  In  face 
of  this  denial,  however,  the  writers  of  the  party  favor  the  meas- 


164:  Southern  Wealth  and  Noi^thern  Profits. 

lire,  and  applaud  the  overt  acts  of  the  John  Browns  among 
zealous  adherents.  "While  "ideas"  have  been  thus  increasing, 
by  aggression  upon  Southern  rights  the  political  power  of  the 
South  has  been  greatly  curtailed,  and  that  process  of  curtail- 
ment is  now  going  on  in  the  double  ratio  of  the  expansion  of 
the  Free  States  and  the  concentration  of  the  Slave  States,  as 
a  consequence  of  the  enhanced  value  of  the  blacks.  Every  ag- 
gression made  upon  Southern  rights  and  equality  before  the 
law,  has  been  accompanied  by  louder  pretences  of  "conces- 
sions" to  the  South.  The  mere  existence  of  the  present  party, 
based  upon  hostility  to  the  institutions  of  that  section,  is  an  ir- 
refragable proof  of  the  extent  to  which  Nortliern  aggresssion 
is  carried.  The  extent  to  which  partisan  feeling  has  been 
carried,  manifests  itself  in  the  attempts  that  have  been  made 
to  deprive  new  States  of  some  of  those  sovereign  rights  which 
were  reserved  to  the  Stated  on  the  formation  of  the  govern- 
ment. Thus,  the  power  over  slavery  was  distinctly  reserved  to 
the  several  States,  each  within  its  own  territory.  Any  State 
had  the  power  to  abolish  or  continue,  or  establish  slavery  at  its 
OM'U  will  and  pleasure,  and  tlie  IS'orthern  States  generally  ex- 
ercised the  right  to  abolish.  When  Missouri  presented  herself 
for  admission  into  the  Union,  party  spirit,  running  very  high, 
sought  to  deprive  her  of  that  sovereign  right  enjoyed  by  all 
other  States,  and  to  admit  her  only  as  a  vassal  to  the  old  States, 
by  compelling  her  to  forego  her  right  to  slavery.  That  was  a 
long  stride  towards  conscflidation  of  power  in  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. All  the  parties  to  the  Constitution  were  free  and  in- 
dependent ;  each  enjoyed  full  sovereignty,  except  in  regard  to 
those  powers  delegated  to  the  government  formed  by  the  Con- 
stitution. The  government  was  a  sort  of  joint-stock  company, 
into  which  political  capital  was  contributed  by  each  State,  and 
it  possessed  no  more  capital,  or  power,  than  had  been  so  con- 
tributed. When  a  new  State  presented  itself  for  admission,  a 
new  partner  to  the  concern,  it  was  required  to  throw  away  one 
of  its  political  powers,  without  conferring  it  upon  the  Federal 
Government.  The  Constitution  says,  "  all  powers  not  conferred 
upon  the  Federal  Government  are  reserved  to  the  States." 
Missouri  was  required  to  forego  its  sovereignty  over  slavery, 
and,  by  so  doing,  become  inferior  in  sovereign  powers  to  the 
other  States.  That  act  of  abnegation  would  not,  however,  con- 
fer the  abandoned  power  upon  the  Federal  Government.  It 
would  make  the  State  weaker,  and  the  Federation  no  stronger. 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  105 

This  attempt  was  resisted,  and  abandoned,  and  the  ahaiuloii- 
ment  was  called  a  "  concession"  to  the  Soutli.  If  Congress  had 
a  right  to  call  upon  one  new  State  to  forfeit  a  reserved  power 
in  respect  of  slavery,  it  might  demand  the  abandonment  of 
any  other,  and  new  States  might  thus  be  stripped  of  all  re- 
served powers. 

The  mode  of  Northern  "  concession"  shows  itself  in  the  dis- 
position of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union.  That  territory  was  all 
slave  territory.  The  North  demanded  a  division  of  it,  so  that 
the  northern  half  should  become  free.  The  Soutli  assented. 
New  territory  being  afterwards  acquired,  the  South  proposed 
a  division  again,  and  the  North  refused  the  South  any  share  of 
it.     Tliis  is  called  a  "  concession"  of  the  North. 

While  the  institution  of  the  South  has  been  thus  pressed  by 
Nortjiern  agitators,  it  was  necessary  that  they  should  set  up 
some  pretence  to  account  for  the  manifest  injustice  of  their 
course.  Accordingly,  we  find  the  leader  of  the  Black  Eepub- 
lican  party  framing  tlie  following  theoiy  : 

"  In  the  field  of  federal  politics,  slavery,  deriving  unlooked- 
for  advantages  from  commercial  changes,  and  energies  unfor- 
Been  from  the  facilities  of  combination  between  members  of 
the  slaveholding  class,  and  between  that  class  and  other  prop- 
erty classes,  early  rallied,  and  has  at  length  made  a  stand,  not 
merely  to  retain  its  original  defensive  position,  but  to  extend  its 
sway  throughout  the  whole  Union.  It  is  certain  that  tlie  slave- 
holding  class  of  American  citizens  indulge  this  high  ambition, 
and  that  they  derive  encouragement  for  it  from  the  rapid  aiul 
effective  political  successes  which  they  have  already  obtained. 
The  plan  of  operation  is  this:  By  continued  appliances  of  jnit- 
ronage,  and  threats  of  disunion,  they  will  keep  a  majority  lavor- 
able  to  these  designs  in  the  Senate,  where  each  State  has  an 
equal  representation.  Through  that  majority  they  will  defeat, 
as  they  best  can,  the  admission  of  Free  States,  and  secure  the 
admission  of  Slave  States.  Under  the  protection  of  the  Judi- 
ciary, they  will,  on  the  principle  of  the  Dred  Scott  case,  carry 
slavery  into  all  the  territories  of  the  United  States  now  existing 
and  hereafter  to  be  organized.  By  the  action  of  the  President 
and  the  Senate,  using  the  treaty-making  power,  they  will  annex 
foreig:n  slaveholding  States.  In  a  favorable  conjuncture  they 
will  hiduce  Congress  to  repeal  the  act  of  1  SOS,  which  prohibits 
the  foreign  slave-trade,  and  so  they  will  import  from  Africa,  at 


166  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

the  cost  of  only  $20  a  head,  slaves  enough  to  fill  up  the  interior 
of  the  continent.  Thus,  relatively  increasing  the  number  of 
Slave  States,  they  will  allow  no  amendment  to  the  Constitution 
prejudicial  to  their  interest;  and  so,  having  permanently  es- 
tablished their  power,  they  expect  the  Federal  Judiciary  to 
nullify  all  State  laws  which  shall  interfere  with  internal  or 
foreign  commerce  in  slaves.  When  the  Free  States  shall  be 
sufiiciently  demoralized  to  tolerate  these  designs,  theyj'easona- 
bly  conclude  that  slavery  will  be  accepted  by  those  States 
themselves." 

The  reader  might  laugh  at  the  barefaced  effrontery  that  put 
such  statements  as  these  before  an  assemblage  of  men  accus- 
tomed to  think  for  themselves,  if  it  were  not  for  the  gravity  of 
the  designs  disguised  under  them.  We  have  seen  how  rapidly 
Free  States  have  been  admitted,  while  every  Slave  State  en- 
countered fierce  opposition  at  the  threshold,  until  the  latter 
have  fallen  into  a  hopeless  minority.  The  world  knows  that 
.  slavery  goes  only  where  it  is  profitable,  yet  we  are  told  that 
the  owners  will  carry  slaves  where  they  will  be  valueless. 
We  are  told  that  the  owners  of  blacks  worth  $2000  each  will 
degrade  the  value  to  $20,  for  the  purpose  of  sending  them 
where  they  will  be  of  no  value ;  and  finally,  that  the  States 
wdiich  have  already  possessed  and  abolished  slavery  as  of  no 
value,  will  be  induced  to  resume  it !  Such  is  the  fog  raised  in 
order  to  cloak  the  treasonable  aggression  which  is  meditated. 
The  idea  of  importing,  at  $20  per  head,  slaves  enough  to  fill 
up  the  interior  of  the  continent,  is  certainly  a  great  stretch  of 
a  very  sanguine  imagination,  and  one  attractive  to  ship-owners. 
The  above  remarks  were  made  by  Mr.  Seward  at  Kochestcr, 
Oct,  25,  1858.  In  the  same  speech  he  announced  the  "  irre- 
jDressible  confiict."  That  announcement  w^e  may  compare  with 
a  paragraph  in  his  speech  in  the  United  States  Senate,  Feb.  29, 
1860. 

February,  1860. 
"The  whole  sovereignty  upon  do- 
mestic concerns  within  tlie  Union  is 
divided  hetween  us  by  unniistakuble 
boundaries ;"  "you  have  your  lit'teen 
distinct  parts;  we  eigliteen  parts, 
equally  distinct.  Each  must  be  main- 
tained, in  order  that  the  whole  may 
be  preserved." 

There  is  a  very  remarkable  change  in  the  views  here  enter- 
tained. 


Octoler,  1858. 
It  is  an  irrepressible  conflict  be- 
tween opposing  and  enduring  forces, 
and  it  means  that  the  United  States 
must  and  will,  sooner  or  later,  be- 
come either  entirely  a  slaveholding 
nation,  or  entirely  a  tree-labor  nation. 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northa^n  Profits.  1 G7 

The  great  question  that  now  agitates  the  old  world  is  the 
supply  of  labor  for  the  colonies.  The  fact  is  rapidly  develop- 
ing itself,  that  future  commerce,  if  it  increase  at  all,  must  de- 
pend, not  on  the  exchange  of  goods  between  manufacturing 
nations,  but  on  the  exchange  of  goods  by  manufacturing  na- 
tions with  those  which  produce  raw  materials  and  tropical 
products.  Coifee,  sugar,  cotton,  cocoa,  which  are  articles  of  trop- 
ical production,  have  become  very  necessary  for  the  comfort  of 
the  inhabitants  of  temperate  climates  and  manufacturing  coun- 
tries. These  articles  have  hitherto  been  produced  by  slave- 
labor.  The  oi^eration  of  production  was  disturbed  by  tlie  ex- 
periment of  emancipation.  At  the  moment  the  demand  for  ' 
those  articles  was  receiving  its  greatest  development,  the  pro- 
duction was  stopped  by  the  emancipation  pf  the  cultivators. 
Tliis  was  done  because  it  was  firmly  believed  that  the  free 
black  would  work.  That  belief  was  erroneous.  The  utmost 
efforts  have  since  been  made  to  "  supply  labor."  For  this  pur- 
pose the  Coolie  trade  has  been  mostly  resorted  to ;  but,  con- 
ducted under  a  system  more  atrocious  than  tlie  African  slave- 
trade,  it  is  quite  inadequate  to  the  object.  It  has  succeeded, 
in  the  British  AYest  India  Islands,  only  in  maintaining  a  certain 
extent  of  production.  In  the  Mauritius,  the  facilities  for  pro- 
curing Coolies  have  been  great,  and  142,53-1  are  there  em- 
ployed, but  the  supply  is  quite  insufiicient.  This  is  the  case 
to  a  much  greater  extent  in  the  West  Indies,  where  the  dis- 
tance of  transport  increases  the  difficulty.  England  luis  ob- 
tained but  about  50,000  Coolies  for  her  colonies,  and  the  supply 
drags.  She  has  used  every  effort  to  increase  the  supply  of 
blacks,  and  to  do  so,  sends  to  the  plantations  the  slaves  she 
•  captures  from  other  nations.  The  numbers,  however,  increase 
but  slowly,  and  the  stimulus  of  will  to  work  is  wanting. 

The  future  of  commerce  is  therefore  clouded  by  the  prospect 
that  the  tropical  materials  and  products,  which  must  conqtosc 
the  equivalents  for  goods  sold,  will  not  be  forthcoming,  and 
the  civilized  white  people  of  Europe,  while  they  will  liave  no 
market  for  their  goods,  will  be  deprived  of  those  articles  which 
they  have  come  to  consider  as  necessary.  A  bountiful  Provi- 
dence has  endowed  those  sunny  climes  with  a  soil  of  the  utmost 
fertility,  and  has  created  beings  whose  constitutions  are  adapted 
to  its  development.  He  lias  not  endowed  them  with  intelli- 
gence, but  they  remain  in  their  jiative  Africa  to-day  what  they 
were  at  the  date  oi  the  deluge,  an  unprogressive  and  savage 


168  Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits. 

race  of  cannibals.  The  white  has  emerged  from  the  pastoral 
state,  and  risen  gradually  to  the  highest  development  of  the 
human  intellect.  Providence  has  not  endowed  him  witli  the 
physical  capacity  to  develop  the  riches  of  those  tropical  climes. 
It  has  endowed  him,  however,  with  the  intelligence  to  appre- 
ciate them,  and  has  pointed  out  to  him  the  means  of  making 
them  subservient,  not  only  to  the  white,  but  to  all  other  races 
of  men.  The  African,  a  docile  and  capable  worker,  was  placed 
in  his  hands.  He  educated  him  in  the  path  of  industry,  made 
him  useful  to  humanity,  turned  him  from  the  worship  of  idols 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  and  raised  him  from  the 
grade  of  an  animal  to  the  semblance  of  manhood.  The  4,000,000 
blacks  and  their  descendants  now  in  the  United  States,  have 
been  raised  from  the  cannibal  and  troglodyte  state  to  a  con- 
dition far  above  that  of  many  white  men.  This  has  not  been 
done  by  their  own  volition,  but  through  the  instrumentality  of 
the  slave-trade,  ministering  to  the  wants  of  humanity  under 
the  direction  of  Divine  Providence.  The  system  of  slavery, 
and  tlie  condition  of  the  slave — moral,  religious,  and  physical — 
is  continually  on  the  advance  in  the  United  States,  but  that 
advance  is  due  only  to  the  rigorous  law  of  industry,  which 
must  be  compelled  by  white  intellect.  To  say  that  the  con- 
dition of  black  servitude  is  wrong,  because  some  vices  and 
evils  attend  it,  is  to  condemn  humanity  and  the  whole  scale  of 
creation,  for  no  part  of  it  is  without  what  appears  to  feeble 
human  observation  as  excei^tionable.  That  the  black  is  a  de- 
pendent race,  to  be  taken  care  of,  was  never  doubted  at  the 
date  of  the  formation  of  the  government.  The  experiment  of 
making  labor  optional  with  them  has  been  made,  and  has 
failed.  The  United  States,  except  Spain,  are  the  only  nation  ^ 
thai  has  not  made  this  fatal  mistake.  France  and  England 
arc  now  fearful  that  she  may.  They  acknowledge  their  mis- 
take. They  are  incumbered  with  pauper  blacks,  and  are  doubt- 
ful of  the  future.  The  coarse  of  the  United  States  upon  this 
matter  was  clearly  put  by  Charles  O'Conor,  Esq.,  in  his  ad- 
dress at  the  Union  Meeting,  New  York,  Dec.  19,  1859  : 

"  As  a  white  nation,  we  made  our  Constitution  and  laws, 
vesting  all  political  rights  in  that  race.  They,  and  they  alone, 
constituted,  in  every  political  sense,  the  American  people. 
(Applause.)  As  to  the  negro,  why,  we  allowed  him  to  live 
under  the  shadow  and  protection  of  our  laws.  We  gave  him, 
as  we  were  bound  to  give  him,  protection  against  wrong  and 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  IGO 

outrage;  but  we  denied  to  him  political  rights,  or  the  i»(.\ver 
to  govern.  We  left  him,  for  so  long  a  period  as  the  cunimu- 
nity  in  which  he  dwelt  should  so  order,  in  the  condition  of  a 
bondman.  (Applause.)  Now,  gentlemen,  to  that  condition 
the  negro  is  assigned  by  nature.  Experience  shows  that  his 
race  cannot  prosper — that  they  become  extinct  in  any  cold,  or 
in  any  very  temperate  clime  ;  but  in  the  Avarm,  the  cxti-cincly 
warm  regions,  his  race  can  be  perpetuate<l,  and  with  proper 
guardianship,  may  prosper.  He  has  am]:)lc  strength,  and  is 
competent  to  labor,  but  nature  denies  to  him  either  the  intel- 
lect to  govern  or  the  willingness  to  work.  Both  were  denied 
him.  That  same  power  which  deprived  him  of  tlie  will  to 
labor,  gave  him,  in  our  country,  as  a  recompense,  a  master  to 
coerce  that  duty,  and  convert  him  into  a  useful  and  A-aluable 
servant.  (Applause.)  I  maintain  that  it  is  not  injustice  to 
leave  the  negro  in  the  condition  in  which  nature  placed  him, 
and  for  which  alone  he  is  adapted.  Fitted  only  for  a  state  of 
pupilage,  our  slave  system  gives  him  a  master  to  govern  him 
and  to  supply  his  deliciencics :  in  this  there  is  no  in  jus!  ice. 
Xeither  is  it  unjust  in  the  master  to  compel  him  to  laboi-,  and 
thereby  afford  to  that  master  a  just  compensation  in  retui-n  for 
the  care  and  talent  employed  in  governing  him.  In  this  way 
alone  is  the  negro  enabled  to  render  himself  useful  lo  himscH' 
and  to  the  society  in  which  he  is  placed. 

"These  are  the  principles,  gentlemen,  which  the  extreme 
measures  of  abolitionism  compel  us  to  enforce.  This  is  the 
ground  that  we  must  take,  or  abandon  our  cherislied  Union. 
We  must  no  longer  favor  political  leaders  who  talk  ahoiit  negro 
slavery  being  an  evil;  nor  must  we  advance  the  indcrcJisihle 
doctrine  that  negro  slavery  is  a  thing  which,  although  ])erni- 
cious,  is  to  be  tolerated  merely  because  we  have  made  a  bar- 
gain to  tolerate  it.  "VVe  must  turn  away  from  the  teachings  of 
fanaticism.  We  must  look  at  negro  slavery  as  it  is,  remember- 
ing that  the  voice  of  inspiration,  as  found  in- the  sacred  volume, 
nowhere  condennis  the  bondage  of  those  who  are  lit  only  for 
bondage.  Yielding  to  the  clear  decree  of  nature,  and  the  (lic- 
tates  of  sound  philosophy,  we  must  pronounce  that  institution 
just,  benign,  lawful,  and  proper.  The  Constitution  established 
by  the  fathers  of  our  Republic,  which  recognized  it,  must  be 
maintained.  And  that  both  may  stand  together,  wc  must 
maintain  that  neither  the  institution  itself,  nor  the  Constitution 
which  upholds  it,  is  wicked  or  unjust;  but  that  each  is  sound 
and  wise,  and  entitled  to  our  fullest  supj^ort. 

"I  have  maintained  the  justice  of  slavery;  I  have  main- 
tained it,  because  1  hold  that  the  negro  is  decreed  by  nature 
to  a  state  of  pupilage  under  the  donunion  of  the  wiser  white 
man,  in  every  clime  where  God  and  nature  meant  the  lu'gro 
should  live  at  all.     (Applause.)     1  say  a  state  of  pupilage ; 


170  Southevn  Wealth  and  Northeim  Profits. 

and,  tliat  I  may  be  rightly  understood,  I  say  that  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  white  man  to  treat  him  kindly — that  it  is  the  interest  of 
the  white  man  to  treat  him  kindly.  (Applause.)  And  fur- 
ther, it  is  my  belief,  that  if  the  white  man,  in  the  States  where 
slavery  exists,  is  not  interfered  with  by  the  fanatics  who  are 
now  creating  these  disturbances,  whatever  laws,  whatever  im- 
provements, whatever  variations  in  the  conduct  of  society  are 
necessary  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  in  every  instance  the 
dictates  of  interest  and  humanity,  as  between  tlie  white  man 
and  the  black,  will  be  faithfully  and  fairly  carried  out  in  the 
progress  of  that  improvement  in  all  these  things  in  which  we 
are  engaged.  It  is  not  pretended  that  the  master  has  a  right 
to  slay  his  slave ;  it  is  not  pretended  that  he  has  a  right  to  be 
guilty  of  harshness  and  inhumanity  to  his  slave.  The  laws  of 
all  the  Southern  States  forbid  tliat :  we  have  not  the  right  here 
at  the  Istorth  to  be  gnilty  of  cruelty  toward  a  horse.  It  is  an 
indictable  oifence  to  commit  such  cruelty.  The  same  laws 
exist  in  the  South,  and  if  there  is  any  failure  in  enforcing  them 
to  the  fullest  extent,  it  is  due  to  this  external  force  which  is 
pressing  upon  the  Soutliern  States,  and  compels  them  to  abstain 
perhaps  from  many  acts  beneficent  toward  the  negro  which 
otherwise  would  be  performed.  (Applause.)  In  truth,  in  fact, 
in  deed,  the  white  man  in  the  slaveholding  States  lias  no  more 
authority,  by  the  law  of  the  land,  over  his  slave,  than  our  laws 
allow  to  a  father  over  his  minor  children.  He  can  no  more 
violate  humanity  with  respect  to  them,  than  a  father  in  any  of 
the  free  States  of  this  Union  can  exercise  acts  violative  of  hu- 
manity toward  his  own  son  under  the  age  of  twenty-one.  So 
far  as  the  law  is  concerned,  you  own  your  boys,  and  have  a 
right  to  their  services  until  they  are  twenty-one.  You  can 
make  them  work  for  you  ;  you  have  the  right  to  hire  out  their 
services  and  take  their  earnings ;  you  have  the  right  to  chas- 
tise them  with  judgment  and  reason  if  they  violate  your  com- 
mands ;  and  they  are  entirely  without  political  rights.  Not 
one  of  them,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  and  eleven  months 
even,  can  go  to  the  polls  and  give  a  vote.  Therefore,  gentle- 
men, before  the  law,  there  is  but  one  difterence  between  the 
free  white  man  of  twenty  years  of  age  in  the  Northern  States, 
and  the  negro  bondman  in  the  Southern  States.  The  white 
man  is  to  be  emancipated  at  twenty-one,  because  his  God-given 
intellect  entitles  him  to  emancipation  and  fits  him  for  the  duties 
to  devolve  upon  him.  The  negro,  to  be  sure,  is  a  bondman  for 
life.  He  may  be  sold  from  one  master  to  another,  but  where 
is  the  ill  in  that  ? — one  may  be  as  good  as  another.  If  there  be 
laws  with  respect  to  the  mode  of  sale,  which  by  separating 
man  and  wife  do  occasionally  lead  to  that  which  shocks  liu- 
manity,  and  may  be  said  to  violate  all  propriety  and  all  con- 
science— if  such  things  are  done,  let  the  South  alone  and  they 


Smither7i  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  171 

will  correct  the  evil.  Let  our  brethren  of  the  South  take  care 
of  their  own  domestic  institutions,  and  they  will  do  it.  (A])- 
plause.)  They  will  so  govern  themselves  as  "to  suppress  acts  of 
this  description,  if  they  are  occasionally  committed,  as  perluips 
they  are,  and  we  must  all  admit  that  they  are  contrary  to  just 
conceptions  of  right  and  humanity." 

This  just  view  appeals  to  the  understanding  of  every  intelli- 
gent man.  There  are  none  who  do  not  admit  that,  in  every 
point  of  view,  the  black  is  better  off  in  his  servile  state  in 
America  than  in  his  savage  state  in  Africa.  To  deny  this  is  to 
deny  all  the  merits  of  civilization,  since  the  civilized  man  loses 
a  large  portion  of  his  personal  liberty  in  submitting  to  the  re- 
straints and  conventionalities  that  are  necessary  to  the  peace 
and  well-being  of  communities.  If,  then,  the  condition  of  the 
black  thus  far  has  been  progressive,  what  may  not  be  expected 
from  a  continued  operation  of  the  same  influence,  when  his 
value  has  so  much  enhanced?  This  question  reduces  itself  to 
a  mere  matter  of  dollars  and  cents.  At  the  North,  a  horse  of 
$30  value  has  bestowed  upon  him  a  certain  degree  of  care  be- 
cause of  even  that  value ;  but  when  the  price  of  the  animal 
rises  to  5  and  10  thousand  dollars,  the  care  he  receives  becomes 
princely.  He  has  expensive  stables  and  special  attendance. 
His  owner  becomes  anxious  for  his  health  and  safety,  and  looks 
after  the  faithfulness  of  those  who  have  him  in  charge.  Up  to 
1808,  the  IS'ew  England  traders  would  sell  slaves  in  the  South 
at  £30,  $135,  each.  At  a  succession  sale  in  West  Baton  Roug.", 
a  few  days  since,  the  following  enormous  prices  Avere  paid  for 
common  field-hands : — One  female  negro  and  four  young, 
$5,650 ;  one  male,  $4,400  ;  do.  do.,  $3,4-75 ;  do.  do.,  $3,400 ; 
do.  do.,  $3,305 ;  do.  do.,  $3,200.  In  Selma,  Alabama,  a  liand 
24  years  old  brought  $2,245,  a  female  $3,205,  another  liand 
$2,050.  These  prices  do  not  indicate  merely  that  the  hand  is 
worth  so  much  more  because  his  services  to  liunumity  liave 
risen  in  that  proportion,  but  they  indicate  that  he  has  so  much 
greater  hold  upon  the  consideration  of  his  master.  That  not 
only  his  material  well-being  will  be  better  cared  for,  but  all 
cruelty,  moral  and  j^hysical,  that  might  affect  his  health  or  di- 
minish his  usefulness,  will  be  more  strictly  prohibited  ;  that  the 
powers  of  overseers  will  be  restrained  ;  tliat  his  moral  culture, 
as  conducive  to  his  physical  usefulness,  will  be  cared  for,  and 
the  path  thus  laid  open  to  his  higest  mental  and  material  de- 
velopment.    This  is  the  process  now  going  on  under  direction 


172  Southern  Wealth  and  ISfortliem  Profits. 

of  divine  Providence,  and  the  black,  like  the  white  Northern 
minor,  is  legally  required  to  exert  himself  in  the  furtherance  of 
the  great  end  in  view.  This  process  is  attended  with  immense 
benefits  to  the  white  race  at  large  and  the  American  Union  in 
particular.  Every  part  of  it  enjoys,  as  we  have  seen  in  forego- 
ing chapters,  the  highest  degree  of  prosperity,  and  all  that  is 
required  to  prolong  and  heighten  that  favorable  condition  is  to 
preserve  harmony,  to  bear  and  forbear,  and  to  second  Provi- 
dence in  its  manifest  designs  for  the  welfare  of  his  creatures. 
If  those  blacks  produced  great  wealth  under  white  tutelage, 
and  in  return  for  the  great  blessings  bestowed  npon  them,  it  is 
shared  by  all  parts  of  tlie  Union  in  a  degree ;  in  return,  each 
lends  its  aid  in  protecting  and  fostering  a  dependent  race  and 
promoting  its  improvement.  The  buyers  of  slave-grown  prod- 
uce are  accused,  in  some  cases,  of  encouraging,  by  so  doing, 
what  some  persons  believe  to  be  a  sin ;  but  they  are  also,  by 
those  purchases,  making  the  value  of  the  slave  greater,  and 
thus  compelling  an  amelioration  of  his  condition.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  should  be  made  free,  his  freedom,  as  the  world 
too  well  knows,  would  consist  only  in  the  unrestrained  practice 
of  vices,  a  neglect  of  industry,  an  abandonment  of  all  hope  of 
improvement,  a  turning  of  his  back  upon  civilization,  and  a 
resolute  return  to  the  brute  condition, 
f  The  theory  of  the  agitators  is  that  the  South  will  not,  in  any 
event,  seriously  resist  the  hostile  action  of  the  North,  no  matter 
how  much  they  may  be  oppressed ;  that  they  Avill  still  cling  to 
the  Union ;  that  the  patriotism  they  have  heretofore  so  uni- 
formly shown  will  still  induce  them  to  stand  by  a  Union  be- 
come valueless,  since  it  deprives  them  of  the  right  to  property 
they  have  so  long  enjoyed.  The  question  with  them  is  not, 
however,  one  of  mere  political  ascendency;  it  is  one  of  exis- 
tence. If  the  cotton-iields,  sugar  plantations,  and  tobacco 
lands  are  deprived  of  hands — for  that  is  the  ultimate  object  of 
the  agitating  party — of  what  value  will  the  lands  or  their  sur- 
roundings be  to  those  owners?  It  will  then  be  too  late  for 
them  to  resist,  for  they  will  already  have  been  despoiled.  It  is 
this  necessity  for  timely  resistance  that  begets  the  danger.  The 
only  mode  in  which  the  ISTorth  can  realize  the  approach  of  that 
danger  we  have  endeavored  to  set  forth  in  the  preceding  pages, 
when  showing  the  dependence  of  all  industry  upon  the  produc- 
tive South.  The  preliminary  measures  have  already  been  taken 
in  most  of  the  Southern  States  to  promote  direct  trade,  and  cur- 


Southern  Wealth  and  Northern  Profits.  173 

tail  purchases  at  the  North.  The  lirdt  pressure  resuhiug  from 
these  measures  must  fall  upon  Northern  artisans,  in  the  shape 
of  lower  wages  and  diminished  work.  The  non-intercourse, 
carried  to  any  extent,  will  naturally  produce  depression  at  tlie 
North  and  a  rise  of  prices  at  the  South.  If  the  latter  is  sus- 
tained by  any  vigorous  State  legislation,  it  will  give  a  great 
impetus  to  manufactures,  which  will  drain  men  and  capital  into 
the  Northern  Slave  States.  The  depreciation  of  property  which 
would  follow  at  the  North  is  matter  for  serious  contemplation, 
and  it  well  behooves  those  interested  to  guard  against  it. 

While  the  dangers  and  disadvantages  that  attend  this  sorrow- 
ful issue  are  so  great,  what  are  the  advantages  that  attend  its 
success  ?  Suppose  the  agitators  reach  the  power-^they  now 
profess  to  have  but  "  one  policy,"  aud  that  a  negative  one.  Is 
it  worth  while  to  convulse  the  world  in  order  to  give  offices  to 
those  who  seek  them  under  a  sham  pretence ;  who  assert  that 
they  oppose  slavery  in  opposition  to  the  law  of  the  land,  under 
the  dictates  of  a  "  higher  law,"  and  who,  in  making  that  asser- 
tion, profess  treason  to  the  "  higher  law,"  in  favor  of  States' 
rights  ?  Is  it  not  better  to  stand  by  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws,  and  avoid  such  issues  as  are  based  only  on  passions  fac- 
tiously  excited,  and  to  brand  with  infamy  the  man  who  seeks 
office  at  the  risk  of  disunion,  anarchy,  and  servile  war  ?  1 


RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamtwi  k»i — 
or  on  'hp  dar(»  »"  — •-•  • 

Rene' 
Rene' 


^' 


OWEI 


R£C    •^^^^^rou^-^iJ^E 


^'' book  is  dac 


R'OM  WHICH  BOIU,o,.BD 


'""feAT^S.. 


CDmaaaoas 


#tt   ''Wj^. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


